A new survey from Kagan Research, ASIA PACIFIC MULTICHANNEL MARKETS 2005, forecasts that the top 13 Asia Pacific countries' aggregate multichannel subscriber base will grow from 188 mil. in 2004 to 356 mil. by 2015, driven primarily by a high-growth Chinese market. Other industry statistics and projections, based on relevant macro data and Kagan's respected 10-year forecasting model, include:

-- IPTV platforms are expected to develop in nine of the region's 13 countries, increasing subscriber share from less than 0.3% in 2004 to 9.4% in 2015. IPTV revenue share is projected to rise from 0.7% in 2004 to 12.9% in 2015.

A handful of emerging technologies and services will account for a growing share of telecom spending by carriers and technology suppliers over the next six to 12 months, as the industry accelerates efforts to build and deploy next-generation networks, according to a report released by the subscription research service Light Reading Insider.

Eighty-three percent of SUPERCOMM 2005 attendees polled in a Tellabs/Telephony survey believe that telecommunications service providers will emerge as competitors to cable companies in video services. More than half (54%) of the 1,245 respondents feel that this competitive gap will close in less than three years. The survey was held on the SUPERCOMM 2005 show floor June 6-June 9.

Research and Markets has announced the addition of 2005 Global Broadband - The rise of DSL to their offering.

The 2005 Global Broadband - The rise of DSL report is an annual report on industry and marketing developments in broadband including: cable modems, ADSL, VDSL, ADSL2, VoBB, Broadband TV (IPTV).

Research and Markets has announced the addition of Broadband Powerline Communications: Ready for Take-Off to their offering.

Power line communications (PLC) has evolved into Broadband Powerline Communications (BPL) that has two primary applications - broadband access (BPL-Access) and home networking (BPL-Indoor). The report, "Broadband Powerline Communications: Ready for Take-Off," provides an exhaustive look at the BPL marketplace. The report details global BPL deployments, examines emerging BPL devices, and discusses standards and regulation. The report profiles major vendors marketing BPL equipment. The report examines developments in BPL technologies and compares these technologies with other competing solutions. The report provides market sizing and market forecasts for both BPL-Access and BPL-Indoor.

As telecom operators push hard to roll out Internet Protocol (IP) television services worldwide, they face major roadblocks in the shape of licensing and franchising issues, according to new studies from ABI Research.

On one side, content providers worry about the security of IP networks, which are certainly not immune to hacking. These concerns affect the license arrangements they must reach with telcos wishing to distribute their intellectual property.

Research and Markets has announced the addition of System Integration and Professional Services in IPTV Networks to their offering.

This report tracks why and how SI services for IPTV have undergone significant growth since 2003 based on profiles of Alcatel, Motorola, Thales, UTStarcom, Lucent, Myrio, Kasenna, ECI and many others. The profiles include a wide variety of integration and professional services that supplement each SI company's own product and service offerings. In general, SI companies have developed a variety of end-to-end services that match the size of the service provider, as a means to shorten the time-to-market. Yet, one of the biggest challenges for SI providers to solve is to integrate competitors' products into their end-to-end solutions, while correctly assuming or allocating responsibility for each company's piece of the Service Level Agreement (SLA).

Research and Markets has announced the addition of IPTV Global Forecast: 2005-2008 Semiannual IPTV Global Forecast Update to their offering.

Growth projection will be from 1.9 million subscribers in 2004 to 25.3 million in 2008, for the first time the forecast includes System Integration & Professional Services as part of its global forecast. The report also forecasts IP TV subscriber revenue growth from $635 million in 2004 to $7.2 billion in 2008, also broken down on regional and service-provider levels.

The shift from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 encoding and headend purchases is expected to begin in volume in the 2007 to 2008, meaning prolonged life for MPEG2 in IP TV systems. Moreover, the rise of IPTV content subscribers will drive an equally rapid installed based of IPTV video headends, according to a new report by Multimedia Research Group. Broadband service providers in the U.S., Asia, and Europe have announced or plan to announce deployments of IPTV-based content services, opening up opportunities for all video headend suppliers.

Incumbent phone companies are pushing IP-based video to the top of their next-generation service agendas, a strategic decision that is likely to have major long-term effects on the telecom equipment industry, according to a major new study released by Heavy Reading, Light Reading Inc.'s market research division.

Research and Markets has announced the addition of The Worldwide DSL Subscriber Market 2005 to their offering.

In 2004, the number of DSL subscribers in Asia and Europe grew rapidly due to low-price promotions by telecoms, while in North America the number of new DSL subscribers surpassed the number of new cable modem subscribers for the first time ever. Looking ahead to 2005, now that the DSL penetration rate has already reached a high level, broadband providers will be seeking to achieve not only further subscriber growth, but also the development of services such as VoIP, IPTV, and VOD. This report will examine the key issues affecting individual regional markets in 2005, and will discuss the prospects for subscriber growth and service development in each market.

Research and Markets has announced the addition of System Integration and Professional Services in IPTV Networks to their offering.

This report tracks why and how SI services for IP TV have undergone significant growth since 2003 based on profiles of Alcatel, Motorola, Thales, UTStarcom, Lucent, Myrio, Kasenna, ECI and many others. The profiles include a wide variety of integration and professional services that supplement each SI company's own product and service offerings. In general, SI companies have developed a variety of end-to-end services that match the size of the service provider, as a means to shorten the time-to-market. Yet, one of the biggest challenges for SI providers to solve is to integrate competitors' products into their end-to-end solutions, while correctly assuming or allocating responsibility for each company's piece of the Service Level Agreement (SLA).

At the Telecom Video 2005 show in Amsterdam this week, MRG is announcing a new installment of its IPTV Tracking Service series, IPTV Content Strategies - May 2005. This report provides a comprehensive analysis of IPTV content deployment strategies in four major global markets. It reveals how international and local content developers, aggregators, and consultants are assisting IPTV service providers in the design and deployment of linear video, video-on-demand (VOD), and interactive services.

According to IDC's recent study "Australia Broadband Market Sizing and Forecast, 2004-2009: Time to Stuff the Pipes" the broadband market is entering a land-grab phase where all Broadband Service Providers (BSPs) are sharpening their offers, cranking up dial-up migration plans and churning out commercial bundles. While the market is entering this very tactical phase, IDC is exploring strategic paths and new market trends occurring in the background, which could have significant impact on the broadband market in the next three years.

The engadget featured a two part interview will Bill Gates over the past two days. If you haven't checked them out, you will definitely want to read the entire transcripts. In part one, engadget questioned about the next Xbox console, whether or not Microsoft is going to come out with a competitor for the PlayStation Portable, and the future of Windows Mobile. In part two, engadget enquired about HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray, IPTV, Windows Media Center and DTV, and why the Tablet PC has struggled in the marketplace.

Relating to home entertainment and IPTV, Bill Gates discussed the difference between a set-top box and the Media Center PC. He also explains how IPTV would work in regards to both technologies, specifically relating it to video-on-demand and recorded shows.