Alcatel announced that it has signed an agreement with Telenor, Norway's leading telecommunications service provider to supply Alcatel's next generation IP broadband services access platform, supporting Telenor's "All IP" network strategy. The Alcatel solution will enable Telenor to offer its customers high bandwidth triple play services such as IPTV, video on demand, and HDTV and cost-effectively meet their strategic objectives.

Lucent Technologies will feature IP-based next generation solutions, including technology for IP Multimedia TV and personalized lifestyle applications, at the TelecomNext trade show in Las Vegas next week.

In addition, John Meyer, president, Lucent Worldwide Services, will present a keynote address on the opportunities and challenges for delivering new services by transforming networks to the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) architecture, and Janet Davidson, Lucent chief strategy officer, will appear on the ATIS ThinkTank Vendor Panel.

TDC, Denmark's largest telecom and cable TV operator, announced that it has selected Alcatel for the deployment of its Internet protocol television (IPTV) offering. The solution will include the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition software platform and Alcatel's services integration. This will enable TDC to provide viewers in the Nordic region with an enriched user experience: one that is simple, personalized and predictable.

Future Entertainment Works (FEW) is building one of the world's largest and most advanced IP converged networks for the King Abdulaziz Endowment Project (KAEP) in the Holy City of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, based on Nortel technology.

Located adjacent to the Grand Mosque, KAEP is a very large urban development project that consists of six residential and commercial towers and a five-star hotel, built on a multi-story podium. KAEP's state-of-the-art, fully IP-based network will provide its guests and businesses with a host of more than 16 innovative IP services such as IPTV, video-on-demand, retail, consumer information and advertising.

Motorola, Inc. today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Kreatel Communications AB, a leading developer of innovative Internet Protocol (IPTV) based digital set-tops, headquartered in Linköping, Sweden. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Kreatel's Linux-based solution extends into the application and middleware layers, allowing it to be used with a broad set of middleware solutions. Kreatel's customer base includes such major service providers as Telefónica (Spain), TeliaSonera (Sweden), and KPN (The Netherlands).

UTStarcom, Inc. introduced the new brand name for its commercially deployed, end-to-end IPTV solution -- RollingStream ^TM.

"We believe the rebranding of our field-proven IPTV solution to RollingStream better articulates the function of UTStarcom's IPTV product family to enable service providers to offer their subscribers a variety of streaming applications over a single platform," said Brian Caskey, vice president of worldwide marketing at UTStarcom. "The name RollingStream speaks to what differentiates our technology -- the ability to efficiently parcel content segments to servers at the edge of the network and then deliver the segments sequentially to users on demand; so that their experience rivals watching a DVD."

UTStarcom, Inc. announced that China Telecom, the largest fixed-line telecom operator in China, has chosen UTStarcom's mVision end-to-end IPTV system to support its new IPTV service in China to be launched by the end of the year. The first official service launch of up to 5,000 subscribers is scheduled to be in Shanghai.

Nortel's IPTV solution uses a service provider's broadband network to deliver television, video, and other advanced services to subscribers. By integrating Nortel's industry-leading SIP-based multimedia communication technology into the television experience, IPTV subscribers can use their TVs to communicate and interact with their friends and family through a variety of media, such as voice, instant messaging, video, and picture sharing. In addition, Nortel's solution works with wireless devices such as PDAs and cell phones.

Alcatel announced the successful completion of a contract with VolgaTelecom, one of the leading Russian regional operators, for the further development of the operator's broadband access network in the Privolzhsky Federal Region. Alcatel will assist VolgaTelecom with comprehensive business consultancy services. The expanded network will be operational by the fourth quarter of 2005.

UTStarcom, Inc., a global leader in IP-based, end-to-end networking solutions and services, announced a partnership with Mude, one of the largest solutions distributors in the communication, security and data storage segments in Brazil. The two companies are partnering to deliver triple play solutions -- high-speed data, Voice-over-IP (VoIP) and IPTV services -- to the Brazilian telecom market.

Powered from end-to-end by the Siemens SURPASS Home Entertainment solution, Belgacom is now delivering commercially available Internet protocol television (IPTV) to its customers as part of its asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) offering, announced the Siemens Communications Group.

Broadband Network Systems (BNS) has teamed up with partners Entone Technologies, Envivio and Widevine Technologies to demonstrate a commercially deployable H.264 end-to-end IPTV solution at the Broadband World Forum Asia in Yokohama this week.

Alcatel announced that it has been awarded a contract by Iceland Telecom to upgrade the operator's broadband access network to cope with increased demand for Triple Play services, including IPTV, and ensure business continuity as the network scales up.

IPTV is proving to be very successful in Iceland. Launched only four months ago, Iceland Telecom's IPTV services offering has been a success, with thousands of TV subscribers on the waiting list to be served. The new access network is expected to be fully operational this summer.

Could broadband television be right around the corner? Alcatel and Microsoft announced on February 22 a global collaboration agreement designed to rapidly accelerate the availability of Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) services for broadband operators world-wide. Alcatel and Microsoft expect that this precedent-setting agreement between a leading provider of Triple Play (voice, data, video) solutions and a leading provider of software solutions will help expand the quickly-growing ecosystem of IPTV industry partners and enable telecommunication providers to take advantage of global economies of scale fuelled by large-scale IPTV deployments planned across the globe.