The Broadband Services Forum, an industry group that fosters collaboration across the broadband value chain including content, service and technology providers, announced its first Board of Directors:
- Derek Kuhn of Alcatel, Chairman
- Craig Forbes of net.com, Vice-Chair
- Andy Birchall of On Demand, Vice-Chair, Europe
- Jerry Passione of Juniper Networks, Secretary
- Keith Wehmeyer of Thomson, Treasurer
- Matthew Marnik of Nortel, VP, Marketing
- Joe Mosher of Aliant Telecom/Innovatia, Member at large
- Thomas Ostendorf of Siemens, Member at large
- Helmut Leopold of Telekom Austria, Member at large
At the first two quarterly meetings of 2005 (March in Santa Monica, California and May in Cardiff, Wales), the Broadband Services Forum confirmed the direction of the group's future initiatives -- IPTV and dynamic and interactive services (such as gaming and video) were given top priority.
The BSF is developing a series of whitepapers around IPTV and interactive services, and is currently evaluating potential IPTV pilot projects. The group is also creating a liaison program for reaching out to other industry groups in the broadband space, and broadened relationships with the analyst community.
http://www.broadbandservicesforum.org
 | IPTV: Making it Work by Derek Kuhn, Chairman of the BSF |
| The market window for value-added broadband services is open, but video is not a business for the uncommitted or inexperienced player. Cable companies have had years of experience in acquiring and delivering content to subscribers and have had several years' experience in developing their pay-per-view (PPV) - and in some cases VOD - businesses while they converted their networks to two-way to support high-speed Internet (HSI) services. Time-to-market can be significantly shortened by leveraging installed assets and partnering with suppliers who have demonstrated experience in implementing video and other broadband entertainment infrastructures. Here is what you need. | |
- In November 2004, the Broadband Content Delivery Forum (BCDF) and the Service Creation Community (SCC) agreed to merge to form the Broadband Services Forum.
