ATIS/MSF Partnership Puts IPTV Standards to the Test

June 18, 2008, Las Vegas, NV - Key IPTV building blocks relating to authentication and initialization will be put to the test when ATIS joins forces with the MultiService Forum (MSF) for the MSF’s biennial Global MSF Interoperability (GMI) event to be held October 20-31, 2008. ATIS and MSF announced the new partnership and list of participating vendors for GMI 2008 today.

The partnership between ATIS and the MSF brings together ATIS’ global reach in IPTV standards development with the MSF’s proven success at validating key Next Generation Network (NGN) concepts. The ATIS IPTV Interoperability Forum (IIF) is recognized globally as the leading developer of IPTV requirements, standards, and specifications, and this new partnership will validate the IIF’s efforts.

The preliminary list of vendor participants announced today include Acme Packet, Codenomicon, Empirix, Huawei, NEC, Nokia-Siemens Networks, Nortel, OSI, Starent, Teles and ZTE.

"GMI 2006 proved that IMS architecture was ready for real world deployment," commented Roger Ward, Office of the CTO, BT Group and President of the MSF. "Now the main emphasis at GMI 2008 will be to show that key emerging services, such as IPTV, can effectively leverage this enabling infrastructure.”

"As the leading IPTV standards development organization, it is fitting that ATIS is the first SDO to formally demonstrate key components of its IPTV architecture at GMI 2008,” stated ATIS President and CEO Susan M. Miller. "The IIF has developed a fully open standardized IPTV architecture supported by security and quality metrics, and we are excited to validate this capability in the truly realistic, end-to-end network deployment scenario provided by GMI 2008."

The MSF announced last month the carrier, government, and academic laboratories agreeing to host GMI 2008 – Verizon, NCS and UNH-IOL in the USA will work with BT/Vodafone in Europe and China Mobile in Asia to create a “real world” global network to verify the interoperability of critical NGN elements in a range of practical scenarios. Building on the success of previous events, GMI 2008 includes additional test laboratories, enhanced test scenarios and a wider range of service capabilities including end-to-end Quality of Service (QoS), Location Management and Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) as well as IPTV. MSF welcomes the addition of ATIS IIF and the expertise the IIF members bring to the MSF IPTV scenario for GMI 2008.

“We have been very successful in attracting companies to participate in the ATIS IIF that represent every element of the entire IPTV ecosystem – from the network operator, to the network equipment and set-top box manufacturers, to the middleware solutions provider, and the content providers,” added Susan M. Miller. “Together, we are making enormous strides and delivering standards that will support successful deployment of IPTV and the unique and interactive entertainment experience that IPTV promises to deliver. Participating in GMI 2008 gives us additional ’real world’ credibility by allowing us to test our work under the most demanding conditions across a global network.”

About GMI 2008
GMI 2008 – the Global MSF Interoperability event – will link major carrier, government, and academic labs on three continents in a major demonstration of multi-vendor interoperability between a significant number of NGN elements supporting Implementation Agreements developed in support of the MSF Release 4 Architecture and practical deployment scenarios of interest to major carriers. GMI 2008 will be held from October 20-31, 2008. http://www.msforum.org/interoperability/GMI.shtml.

About the MSF
The MultiService Forum (MSF) is a global association of service providers, system suppliers and test equipment vendors committed to developing and promoting open-architecture, multiservice Next Generation Networks. Founded in 1998, the MSF is an open-membership organization comprised of the world's leading telecommunications companies. The MSF's activities include developing Implementation Agreements, promoting worldwide compatibility and interoperability of network elements, and encouraging input to appropriate national and international standards bodies. http://www.msforum.org/

About ATIS
ATIS is a leading technical and operations standards development organization, dedicated to the rapid development and promotion of worldwide interoperable, implementable, end-to-end industry standards. ATIS’ over 300 member companies participate in over 22 industry committees and Incubator Solutions Programs and work on standardization activities for wireless and wireline networks, including interconnection standards, number portability, improved data transmission, Internet telephony, toll-free access, telecom fraud, and order and billing issues. For more information, please visit www.atis.org.

About the ATIS IPTV Interoperability Forum (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, please visit www.atis.org/iif.

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