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IPTV PRIMER: What is IPTV and is it Regulated as a Traditional Cable Service?

All Internet Protocol Television ("IPTV") is digitally delivered. But not all digital TV is Internet Protocol ("IP"). IPTV's interactivity makes its regulation and its potential as a premier telecommunications and entertainment service far different.

What exactly is IPTV? Is IPTV just traditional cable television service delivered over the Internet, or is it something more? What is the difference between IPTV and "digital" cable service? Is IPTV a regulated telecommunications service or not? How does IPTV's unique attributes benefit telecommunications services providers, entertainment and programming content providers and consumers?

This article defines IPTV, compares it to traditional cable television services, and concludes that it should not be regulated as traditional cable service. The lack of regulation reduces IPTV's cost. Non-regulation also creates an opportunity for telecommunications and program and entertainment service providers outside the traditional cable industry to deliver video services to consumers. Many such companies are already operating. Others are considering expansion into video services. The latest TV receivers can access these providers and traditional cable companies interchangeably, with little extra effort on the part of consumers — if the bandwidth supplied to consumers is great enough.

This article also describes some of the applications of IPTV, and suggests that telecommunications and program and entertainment service providers are quickly embracing it.

What Is IPTV?

The concept is simple. IPTV is the process of delivering video signals over a data network, as data. If the video signal is in an analog form (as is traditional television signals), the video signals and audio signals associated with the video signals are first converted to a digital form before they are transmitted. Typically, routing equipment then adds packet routing information to the digital content so that it can be routed through the Internet to consumers.

Thus, instead of receiving video or television signals broadcast over radio waves or coaxial cable, a consumer's television is connected directly to a broadband Internet router and receives the digitized video or television signal, including the audio, directly over the Internet. An IPTV system requires the following key components:

 

 

 

• A device or adapter that converts video and audio signals into a form that enables consumers to watch such signals on their television set. This device bridges a consumer's computer with television. There are a multitude of such devices available through IPTV providers, and some TV receivers have such capabilities built-in.

• A broadband access provider, which transmits high-speed data to end users by means of a broadband connection. Broadband access providers include local exchange telephone companies, Internet access providers, cable television companies, infrastructure providers, and wireless service providers.

• An IPTV provider, connecting a subscriber's home computer to the Internet through a bridging device and providing software to operate the IPTV system. The system keeps track of which customers are active and viewing IPTV, and which features and services are authorized. When a customer requests a specific television channel or program to be viewed, the IPTV service provider's equipment sends messages to a media gateway via the Internet, allowing the requested content to be connected to a selected media gateway source. There are a number of IPTV providers in the marketplace. A broadband access provider and an IPTV provider can be the same entity.

• Program and content providers, including entities that offer movies, sports channels, news services, and other sources of programming. There is an abundance of content in the video marketplace that can be delivered to subscribers over an IPTV system. Consumers could also become content providers of "broadcast quality" video; thousands are already posting to YouTube and similar on-line services.

IPTV can be delivered over a fiber to the home ("FTTH") network, a fiber to the curb ("FTTC") network, or enhanced traditional copper wire. IPTV allows a consumer to obtain video programming whenever the subscriber decides to view it. Put simply, IPTV is not just a distribution or playback method for video programming. It can and does serve to eliminate a fixed video programming schedule, and provide a multitude of program offerings similar to how information on the Internet can be accessed by any person at any time.

What Is Cable Television Service and a Cable Television System?

Cable television service and IPTV are confusing concepts. This confusion causes a misunderstanding as to each. Moreover, legislation has not kept up with the technology of delivering video programming to consumers. When that happens, confusion carries through the courts and administrative regulatory systems, which attempt to make policy work but only in one case at a time.

The Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") defines traditional a cable television system as a facility, consisting of a set of closed transmission paths and associated signaling generation, reception and control equipment that is designed to provide "cable service".1 Cable service means a one-way transmission to subscribers of video programming or other programming service, and subscriber interaction, if any, which is required for the selection or use of such video programming or other programming service.2 The key characteristic of cable service is one-way transmission.

What Are the Differences Between IPTV and Cable Service?

First and foremost, an IPTV system employs a two-way interactive network, as opposed to a one-way transmission system. IPTV is an Internet service, even when it looks exactly the same as other TV programming. A subscriber to an IPTV service uses a set-top box to request specific individual video signals from the IPTV service provider. Thus, the subscriber controls the video signals he or she wishes to access.

The two-way interactive network differs significantly in functionality from the one-way transmission network of a cable television system. A one-way network transmits a complete set of video channels to a subscriber's set-top box all at the same time. In a one-way system, a subscriber receives video signals on a fixed schedule, except for Video on Demand ("VOD"). In contrast, in an IPTV system, a subscriber can obtain video programming whenever he or she decides to view it.

As stated above, the only apparent exception to a cable system's one-way functionality is when a cable television system provider offers VOD. VOD allows a subscriber to view a video program when the subscriber decides to view it. The FCC has essentially ruled, however, that, in a VOD offering, the cable provider is still in control of the programming.3

In any event, most programs delivered by cable systems are not on demand, but are transmitted based upon the fixed schedule of a television cable network or program source. The cable network or program source is the content provider. The television networks (as well as other cable program content providers), that provide content, generally set their programming at specific times for delivery by a cable system.

Moreover, in a cable system, the cable operator is in control of selecting and distributing programming content to subscribers, and the content is usually available to all subscribers at the same time. As stated above, in an IPTV system, the subscriber has complete control of the selection of the programming which he or she intends to view.

This point brings us to the second differentiator. IPTV systems offer a greater choice of programming content than subscribers to a cable system can ever hope to receive. Thus, an IPTV system can offer hundreds of channels of programming, all on demand, because of the IPTV system's use of digital bandwidth. The number of channels an IPTV system can offer is limited only by the amount of bandwidth that a subscriber has available through the subscriber's broadband access provider.

Third, an IPTV system uses a packet-switched Internet Protocol ("IP") network rather than a broadcast network. In an IPTV system, all of the video programming is held in a central location, and only the programming that the subscriber chooses is actually delivered. Moreover, because an IPTV system allows for more bandwidth per program "channel," a subscriber will likely receive better-quality video signals. The IPTV provider also has the ability to add much more programming or data choices than can a cable system provider which is not using IPTV.

Fourth, IPTV allows every subscriber's television set, desk-top or laptop personal computer ("PC"), music player or other portable device to be connected to the Internet, all together and all at the same time. Doing that with a PC-centric system such as a Windows Media tuner-equipped PC connected to a cable box is cumbersome. Thus, IPTV subscribers can more easily use their television to play media files that are stored on their PCs. Such files may include digital photos, videos, or music.

Fifth, IPTV can generally produce better video images than conventional analog or even digital TV (all satellite TV signals are digital, although they may not be delivered to individual dwelling units in digital form) because of the compression techniques IPTV employs. These techniques, most commonly MPEG4, are better than the current television standard. Thus, file sizes sent to a subscriber's television set over an IPTV system can be smaller in size, with a higher quality picture image.

Sixth, IPTV allows for integration of a variety of telecommunications services. Thus, IPTV can be easily bundled with a high-speed broadband Internet data service, as well as Voice over Internet Protocol ("VoIP") telephone service.

Ideally, bandwidth allows for all these bundled services delivered using FTTH or at least FTTC. As an interim measure, some providers, such as incumbent local exchange carriers ("ILECs"), are using variants of Digital Subscriber Lines ("DSLs"), which employ fiber to within a few thousand feet of a subscriber's household, and copper wire to travel the final leg between the fiber and the homeowner. This technology has come to be known as "FTTN" which stands for fiber to the node. This term covers a wide range of capabilities, however, ranging from speeds of 1.5 Mbps to about 30 Mbps. Cable providers are also bundling cable, Internet and VoIP services over their cable networks as well, using versions of Data over Cable Service Interface Specification ("DOCSIS") higher than 2.0, such as Version 3.0 that was released in the summer of 2006. DOCSIS is an international standard developed by Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. ("CableLabs"), with assistance from a number of a number of equipment suppliers from the cable television industry, that defines the communications and operations support interface requirements for data over cable system. DOCSIS permits the addition of high speed data transfer to an existing cable television system. This standard is employed by cable television systems to provide Internet access over their existing Hybrid Fiber Coaxial ("HFC") infrastructure.

Finally, IPTV allows for a higher level of alarm and security services, particularly video surveillance for commercial buildings receiving IPTV integrated with other telecommunications services.