ATIS IIF Releases Key Standard on Network Attachment and Initialization of Devices and Client Discovery of IPTV Services

October 20, 2008, Washington – ATIS announced today the release of a new standard created by the ATIS IPTV Interoperability Forum (IIF): Network Attachment and Initialization of Devices and Client Discovery of IPTV Services (ATIS-0800017). This document specifies the initial set of activities that prepare devices in the consumer domain to receive and consume IPTV services. It is a foundation specification addressing fundamentals such as the initialization and attachment phases for the Delivery (home) Network Gateway (DNG) and the IPTV Terminal Function (ITF), which includes the set top box. Comprehensively, it covers network attachment, service provider discovery, service provider attachment and services discovery procedures.

“By providing the critical groundwork to coordinate the efforts of virtually every element of the IPTV ecosystem this standard brings the next evolutionary step in entertainment television ever-closer to wide-scale deployment,” said Susan Miller, President and CEO of ATIS.

Through addressing basic issues such as how an IPTV terminal connects to the network, helping the system know which service providers are available there and the services they offer, as well as allowing connection to these providers and offerings, ATIS-0800017 is the beginning of a suite of standards that will enable interoperability starting with a simplified user experience for IPTV service attachment. Soon to follow will be a specification enabling access to linear television services—television as we know it today—through a managed IP network. Recognized globally as the leading developer of IPTV requirements, standards and specifications, the ATIS IPTV IIF is the first standards development organization to formally demonstrate components of the architecture that will enable emerging IPTV services.

The new standard is available through the ATIS Document Center at: https://www.atis.org/docstore/. The Document Center is the leading, online resource to published and pre-published telecommunication standards, as well as technical reports, requirements and guidelines produced by ATIS-sponsored industry forums and committees.

About ATIS IIF
The ATIS IPTV Interoperability Forum (IIF) is recognized globally as the leading developer of requirements standards, and specifications for Internet Protocol Television, or IPTV.

More than 40 ATIS member companies are actively engaged in ATIS’ IPTV standardization efforts through the ATIS IIF, including Alcatel-Lucent, AT&T, BT, Cisco, Intel, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nortel, Qwest, Sun Microsystems, and Verizon, among others.

For more information about the ATIS IIF, please visit www.atis.org/iif.

About ATIS
ATIS is a technical planning and standards development organization that is committed to providing leadership for, and the rapid development and promotion of, worldwide technical and operations standards for information, entertainment and communications technologies using a pragmatic, flexible, and open approach. Participants from more than 300 communications companies are active in ATIS’ 22 industry committees and Incubator Solutions Program. www.atis.org