Derek Kuhn writes a great article entitled "IPTV: Making it Work" at Converge! Network Digest. The article is a good overview of the challenges and issues facing companies looking to enter the IPTV and video industry.

Kuhn points out that while there is an opportunity for telephone companies and other service providers to offer broadband services in North America, the window of opportunity is small. Therefore time to market the new services will be vital to compete against the seated cable companies.

Kuhn goes into the details and complications that telephone companies will encounter entering into a service arena that is relatively new to them.

"Delivering a video solution requires more than the addition of a few pieces of equipment and software into an existing network. In reality, very few operators can layer this service on an existing network. In certain cases, telecom operators will decide to build out their network and upgrade certain portions as well as enhance operations support system (OSS)/business support system (BSS) infrastructure on which to offer the services. Head-ends, middleware, VOD servers, content management applications, conditional access/digital rights management (DRM) systems, home networking and set-top boxes (STBs) are all relatively new to the traditional telco."

Creating strategic alliances with companies that have experience in building "an end-to-end, content-to-consumer, video service offering" will be critical to their success.

Additional topics discussed in the article include:

• Video system integration defined
• Network and service design
• Implementation and maintenance services
• Content acquisition
• Operational and training services

Read the full article.