IPTV is an important element of a multiservice triple or quadruple play strategy for carriers globally. One of the problems they face is that these simple bundling strategies rely on discounting as the main benefit provided to subscribers. This strategy places a negative on the profitability of these services and like any other pricing strategy, is relatively easy to match by competitors.

There is a widespread consensus about making these multiservice bundles richer by adding applications and especially extending these applications so that they operate across different services. In this report we are particularly interested in how IPTV services can be extended to support fixed and mobile applications. This will then make the bundle of services more valuable and provide opportunities to increase their profitability. Use of the IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) architecture and SDPs (Service Delivery Platforms) are expected to be an important part of this strategy. Both can significantly improve the ability of service providers to introduce and operate these new applications and services.

As mentioned earlier, the traditional method for introducing new services has been to develop a complete set of infrastructure elements for each new service. There are separate subscriber databases, separate interfaces to billing systems, separate customer care systems, and separate provisioning systems for each application. This increases both the resources and the time required to deploy new applications. In addition, every new application increases the complexity of the network because of the interactions required between it and the existing applications. This same problem is addressed in a largely complementary way by Service Delivery Platforms as discussed in Section 4.

IMS was designed to include the elements that had been proved to be common across multiple services in mobile networks as shown on the right side of Figure 2-2. This strategy is intended to save costs by reducing the effort to develop new services, reduce the hardware required to support these services, and to reduce redundant functions across services.

IMS (IP MULTIMEDIA SUBSYSTEMS) architecture and SDP (SERVICE DELIVERY PLATFORM) hold significant promise for IPTV operators to accelerate advanced service development, deployment and provisioning that will enhance the profit potential of their triple-play and quad-play services, according to a new IPTV report from MRG, IMS and SDPs in IPTV Networks. While the trap of commoditized services looms large for emerging IPTV operators, using standardized interfaces and architectures provided by IMS and SDP can accelerate the development and deployment stages with minimum impact on operations and network resources; and can decrease duplicative functions (billing, digital rights management, and asset management) while exploiting the inherent advantages of a standardized IP infrastructure in its core. “IPTV service providers will use IMS and SDPs to create applications that go well beyond basic IPTV, voice, and mobile services,” states Bob Larribeau, IPTV Program Director at MRG. “Service providers will be able to combine the visual power of the TV with the communications power of voice and mobile networks.” Service providers need to advance from bundling to an integrated application offering where the whole is more than the sum of the parts. The report explains how standardized IMS architectures and SDPs will enable the development of applications that integrate IPTV, voice, and mobile services so that each of them adds to the value of the other.

Examples of enhanced service categories include location-based services, multimedia sharing and storage (on the TV and other platforms); call forwarding to mobile, video calling and others. “The problem with triple-play is that it relies on discounting, which depresses profits,” states Gary Schultz, MRG CEO. “IMS and SDPs offer standardized architectures and toolsets to accelerate development of new services that we believe will add value, increase profits and reduce churn.”

Source: Businesswire