SaskTel International and Mariner partner to address the growth and maturation of the global IPTV marketplace. According to recent research by Infonetics, global IPTV subscribers are forecasted to continue to grow to 72 million by 2011, despite the concerns over the current economic situation. Infonetics expects service providers to continue heavy investment in IPTV content and transport equipment as investment shifts from Ethernet routers and switches to content infrastructure, such as video on demand servers.

In announcing this partnership, both companies are also announcing their first joint deployment of their resources into a Caribbean telecom, in order to accelerate that operator's market deployment of its IPTV service.

The partnership sees Mariner and SaskTel International build on their existing relationship and jointly deliver IPTV consulting and integration services to Service Providers all over the world. SaskTel International has many years of experience working with global telecom service providers on all continents and brings actual IPTV operating experience to clients through their parent company SaskTel -- which continues to operate one of the industry's most successful IPTV operations. Mariner also brings many years of experience in IPTV lifecycle management services, best practice launch methodologies, and innovative IPTV software products.

Mariner's founders launched the very first commercial IPTV service in a Bell Operating company in eastern Canada in 1999 and, through the formation of Mariner, remain committed to the evolution of a new TV experience. SaskTel, the principal supplier of telecommunications in Saskatchewan and parent company of SaskTel International, has been delivering an industry leading IPTV service for over six years and has one of North America's largest and most profitable IPTV service implementations.

Mariner and SaskTel International will be showcasing their combined IP Video products and services in meeting room 100 at TelcoTV 2008. Tom Laird, Mariner's VP of IPTV Business Development, is also involved in the "Integrating the Social Network Experience: Fad or Reality" TelcoTV panel being held at 4.30pm PST on November 12.