ATIS Hosts ITU Workshop on Satellite Services and the NGN; Technical and Standardization Issues Facing Next Gen Satellite Services Identified

July 16, 2007, Montreal, Canada – Representatives from U.S. and Canadian based satellite operators and vendors met last week in Montreal to discuss the impact of packet-based, Next Generation Network (NGN) technologies among satellite network operators. Hosted by ATIS, the ITU-T Workshop – entitled “Satellites in the NGN?” – offers an in-depth understanding of the various networking and standardization issues that satellite service operators must address in the deployment of NGN services.

Among the topics addressed in the workshop were: Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE) requirements for multimedia services; IPTV/NGN mobility support using satellite systems; NGN over satellite performance issues and resource requirements; NGN network management for satellite operators; Emergency Telecommunications Service (ETS) requirements for satellites; and NGN and mobile satellite services. Workshop presentations shared by technical experts from both the satellite operator and the vendor communities referenced ongoing NGN standards work taking place at ATIS, ITU-T, and other standards organizations worldwide.

“As NGN network requirements and standards among terrestrial and mobile service providers continue to evolve and mature, it is becoming increasingly important that the very significant and critical standards needs of satellite service providers are not overlooked,” said Susan M. Miller, president and CEO of ATIS. “ATIS is very pleased to host the ITU Workshop, as it serves as an excellent opportunity to shed light on the unique and critically important NGN standardization requirements of satellite operators.”

For more information on the workshop and to access session presentations, visit the workshop web page at http://www.itu.int/ITU T/worksem/satellites/200707/programme.html

ATIS is a leading standards development and technical planning organization committed to rapidly developing and promoting technical and operations standards for the communications and related information technologies industry worldwide using a pragmatic, flexible and open approach. Participants from more than 300 communications companies are active in ATIS’ 22 industry committees, Incubator Solutions Programs, and other activities. www.atis.org