BIOS: Technology Means Business

At TV Outlook 2007 in Munich, Germany, Siemens Networks will report about the changing habits of TV viewers which are crucial for the success of IPTV.

Television is now the last medium to finally wake up and reinvent itself. The main cause of this is the realisation that passive TV consumption has had its day.

IPTV, or Internet protocol television, refers to the delivery of digital television and other audio and video services over broadband data networks using the same basic protocols that support the Internet. There is nothing new about the idea of using Internet technology to deliver video, but Internet protocol television should not be confused with the Web experience of streaming video, which has generally fallen far short of anything we might expect to see on television.

The Internet generation now demands more of a television program than just one-dimensional access to information and entertainment formats. It also wants to be able to compile a customised program anytime, anywhere, and above all use it interactively.

The new TV world has made a successful start. Now it has to pick up speed so as not to come to a halt halfway. The concrete goal is to give TV viewers every possibility for interaction. That includes ways of calling up additional content, communications services such as instant messaging and chats, and tailored TV offerings to suit their individual taste.

With increasing broadband access speeds, together with improvements in digital video compression, it is now possible to deliver high-quality video services over a telephone line. A small decoder box can connect a television to a telephone or network point, rather than an aerial socket, cable or satellite feed, and in theory the pictures should be just as good. Using new advanced compression schemes, in the future it will even be possible to deliver high-definition television in this way.

There are several advantages to IPTV, including interactivity, Video-on-Demand, better compression technologies, and triple play efficiencies. Other advantages include better program guides. IPTV also provides two-way capabilities, lacked by traditional TV distribution technologies. Interactive television allows for signals to be sent back up to the TV provider which can be used in many ways - such as altering what you are watching (e.g. switching camera angles or commentators on a sporting event), requesting more information (e.g. interactive news, or advertising), or for statistics.

Siemens Networks will merge into a 50-50 joint venture with the Nokia Networks Business Group, creating a telecommunications powerhouse that will be called Nokia Siemens Networks. The new company will be in a strong position in important growth segments of the fixed and mobile network infrastructure and services, featuring a ‘world-class’ fixed-mobile convergence capability. The new company Nokia Siemens Networks is expected to start operations by January 1, 2007, subject to customary regulatory approvals, the completion of standard closing conditions, and the agreement of a number of detailed implementation steps.

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