IPTV has completed stage one of its growth, moving from a technology concept at the start of the decade to a real service that, in some countries, has now achieved mass-market status. With deployment and scale come new challenges related to the every-day business of delivering TV, including successful provisioning, customer care and the guarantee of uninterrupted 'reception' and robust picture quality.

As everyone races to be the consummate provider of entertainment and communications to the customer in the home, IPTV is regarded by some as the silver bullet to achieving this goal. However, those choosing to launch IPTV services are entering an already crowded and competitive market characterised by established players and ongoing innovations. By Colin Light and David Lancefield, TMT, PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP

February 29, 2008 - A survey conducted by Multimedia Research Group, Inc. (MRG) - and commissioned by IP video quality assurance vendor Symmetricom, Inc - suggests video quality is critical to the growth and success of IPTV, significantly affecting customer support calls and customer churn. The survey was limited in scope (IPTV executives from 12 North American Tier One and Tier Two telcos) but, if representative of the IPTV sector as a whole, it suggests a lack of proactive quality control, since most (90%) of the respondents were notified about service quality problems from subscriber calls.

February 29, 2008 - The IPTV World Series Awards 2008, in its second year running, have announced three shortlisted products and services for each category from a record 100 entries. The winners will be announced at a ceremony held at 6pm on 12th March at the IPTV World Forum conference and exhibition (www.iptv-forum.com).

February 29, 2008 – A new report from Informa Telecoms & Media forecasts that by 2012, 909mn homes will have access to true video-on-demand (VOD) or near-video-on-demand (NVOD) technology, representing 78% of the world’s TV homes and generating revenues in excess of US$10bn.