UTStarcom recognized for its IPTV innovation by Informa and the IPTV World Forum during the initial round of the 2009 IPTV World Awards program. UTStarcom, the leading IPTV provider in Asia, was selected as a finalist in the "Most Innovative New Service" category for its development and deployment of the iControl IPTV service with Aksh Optifibre.

The IPTV Awards 2009 celebrate the best of the best in the global industry and gives all honorees a mark of quality, innovation and leadership. The "Most Innovative New Service" award category especially recognizes the excellence of an IPTV service that was launched by an operator or service provider in 2008, delivered over a managed network and that made a significant contribution to service revenues and customer satisfaction.

Aksh Optifibre's iControl IPTV Service, designed and built in collaboration with UTStarcom, came to market in India on June 15, 2008, as India's first IPTV service offering. It is built on the end-to-end RollingStream IPTV solution framework provided by UTStarcom and is offered to India consumers through Bharat Sanchar Nigam and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL). This interactive IPTV offering enables subscribers to message and talk with one another live through video communications tools on their television, as well as interact live with their favorite shows through polling and karaoke. Aksh's iControl service also offers several unique interactive experiences not currently available through competitive cable and satellite services.

As of year-end 2008, UTStarcom's RollingStream end-to-end IPTV system supported more than 1.27 million live IPTV subscribers globally and had a total live system capacity of more than 2.5 million subscribers. UTStarcom has announced IPTV deployments in India with Bharti Airtel, BSNL/Aksh, MTNL/Aksh and United Telecoms Limited, in Sri Lanka with SLT, in Japan with Softbank, in Latin America with Brasil Telecom and in Taiwan with Markwell.

The IPTV World Series Awards will be presented at a Gala Evening ceremony on the opening night of the IPTV World Forum, the world's largest IP video-focused event, on Wednesday, March 25, 2009, at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel, London.