Efforts to accelerate the deployment of IPTV by combining the expertise of key telecom operators, consumer electronics manufacturers and network infrastructure providers in the Open IPTV Forum are gathering further momentum, and the first release of the specifications that will allow IPTV to develop into a mass market service is close to completion.

At its meeting at the headquarters of Telefónica in Madrid from 10-13 June, the Open IPTV Forum, the pan-industry initiative that was established to produce the end-to-end solution specification which will open up access to the interactive and personalised services offered by IPTV, significantly expanded its membership. These companies join the founding members - Ericsson, FT Group, Nokia Siemens Networks, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sony and Telecom Italia - and many other major IPTV industry players from the communications and entertainment industries, bringing to 37 the number of companies which are working together in the Forum.

Since April this year, 11 new members have been accepted:

• Access Company
• BeeTV
• FastWeb
• Digital Fountain
• Intel
• InterTrust Technology Corporation
• Motorola
• Opera Software
• Thomson
• Swisscom
• ZyXEL

Over the coming months, the Forum will be exhibiting at some of the world's largest consumer entertainment industry events:

• IPTV World Forum North America - Chicago, US, 22-23 July
• IFA, the world's largest consumer electronics trade fair - Berlin, Germany, 29 August - 3 September
• MPEG Industry Forum - Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 11 September
• IBC, the major international event for all involved in the creation, management and delivery of content for the entertainment industry - Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 12-16 September.

Members of the Forum will be speaking at these events, and will be delighted to meet potential new members to discuss the work of the Forum and the future of IPTV. Interviews with the press can also be arranged.