What is WiMAX?

Generally speaking, WiMAX is a standard that is defined by the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access Forum, a not-for-profit organization that started in mid-2001. “Basically, WiMAX is an international standard for last mile broadband wireless access,” says Gidi Gilboa, NDS WiMAX TV Product Marketing Manager.

What can be expected to drive the proliferation of WiMAX? Gilboa explains that because it is a standard technology WiMAX will be available to virtually any manufacturer. “This means that development of WiMAX-enabled devices will be less expensive.” Consumers are expected to be interested in WiMAX because it promises to deliver wireless broadband connectivity wherever they may be.

WiMAX will be able to supply “on the go” broadband services at speeds equivalent to those seen with today’s average DSL bandwidth. “Like any broadband IP network it will offer two-way connectivity which is essential for both on-demand and interactive applications,” he says. This is good news for consumers who are accustomed to the limited access services offered via 3G cellular networks.

Evolution to WiMAX TV

It is anticipated that for their initial WiMAX deployment service providers will offer high speed Internet and VOIP. “What’s clear is that WiMAX TV is next,” Gilboa says, “because operators will want to take advantage of their wireless broadband IP network to generate additional revenues. An appealing content offering will be the heart of any value-added service offered by WiMAX operators.”

What will the NDS WiMAX TV solution offer?

“The appeal of mobile TV has already been demonstrated in trials and initial deployments,” Gilboa says. “A service that allows consumers to stay updated and get their favorite video content via personal devices on the go is very popular.”

NDS WiMAX TV will offer WiMAX subscribers the same experience and more. It will leverage network capabilities to support new models like a combination of live multicast TV and on-demand services. Subscribers will be able to use their WiMAX device either to watch the news live or to request an on-demand news broadcast if they missed it live.

Flexibility is at the core of NDS WiMAX TV. In addition to live or on-demand services, subscribers will be able to download content to their mobile devices at the same time that they’re using them. For example, they can work on a laptop while downloading a movie.

Utilizing the two-way capabilities of WiMAX, the NDS solution will also support interactive applications. As an example, while subscribers are watching a news report about an election campaign, they can be polled live, asking them who they would vote for. “In the STB world, this is a relatively complicated application,” Gilboa says, “but with WiMAX TV, voting is similar to requesting a page on the Internet.”

In addition, because WiMAX is delivered from local base stations, it can take interactive applications one step further. Operators can target specific consumers with interactive advertising or services based on their location. They can make it possible for sports fans to watch game highlights during halftime or timeouts because they know which base station is supplying service.

These applications are what make WiMAX TV so attractive to both operators and subscribers.

The future is around the corner

Having already conducted trial projects with Intel, NDS is uniquely positioned to be a leader with WiMAX TV that will be delivered to a variety of CE devices including notebook PCs, PDAs, mobile phones and PMPs. “Starting in 2008,” Gilboa says, “Intel is planning to offer both WiFi and WiMAX connectivity in notebook computers.”

For consumers, this will mean that they will be able to connect to the Internet and receive TV broadcasts on their portable computers. For service providers such as telecommunications companies that want to offer mobile and broadband access, they can expect to reach a greater number of potential subscribers when a large percentage of notebooks are WiMAX-enabled.

The NDS WiMAX TV offering relies on the integration of existing and proven NDS solutions such as VideoGuard, the world leading conditional access and DRM technology, the NDS EPG and NDS XTV DVR technology.

“NDS is helping pave the way to combine sophisticated standards like WiMAX with new TV business models,” Gilboa says. “In the near future it will be one of the technologies that will help subscribers watch any content on any device anywhere and anytime they want.”

For more information:
VideoGuard
NDS @ CES

When IPTV was first introduced in the late 1990s it was definitely the TV system of the future. For home subscribers it offered digital television broadcast over a broadband infrastructure, usually along with Video on Demand (VOD).

This first phase IPTV deployments were typically implemented by small technology companies with lots of good ideas but not necessarily the size or scale to migrate to mass market deployments.

Their initial IPTV technology offerings were sufficient as long as the operators were willing to make do with what was available – without making any special demands. Unfortunately, these early IPTV technology suppliers were too small to offer scalable solutions and the customization that their customers began to require.

Another issue that was perhaps just as serious was the ad hoc approach to set-top box software. Operators generally used the software that was provided by the individual set-top box manufacturers. Unfortunately, this range of STB software was not good news for emerging operators. The small suppliers couldn’t ensure STB user consistency and interoperability across a range of STBs. The ability to provide a common user experience was essential for the major telecom players – who were keen to migrate into the IPTV market in a big way.

In one sense, Phase One of IPTV deployment was a victim of its own success. Early suppliers couldn’t keep up with progress and demand. Once the major telecommunications companies began entering the market with plans for triple or quadruple plays of their own, IPTV became something altogether different.

Phase Two

IPTV really came into its own about two years ago. This was ushered in by a new phase of development where the players were larger. National telecommunications companies began realizing that their traditional voice revenues were being eroded which meant they needed to offer more and different services. They began to offer triple or quadruple plays of their own by adding entertainment and broadband Internet to their traditional voice and mobile services. What they required was more than the small developers were able to supply.

Another important feature of Phase Two was solving the problems which were created in Phase One. To start with, IPTV developments are now more complex and operators need to be able to dedicate real resources to issues like scalability and support for STB software. The result is that the players in the market are also increasingly large, and, critically, financially well-heeled.

As competition increases, operators have expanded their IPTV services. Of necessity their suppliers need to be large companies that can develop, deliver and support interactive TV and other applications. As the scale of deployment increases, it is natural for larger IPTV providers to turn to larger IPTV solutions providers.

Synamedia Metro

For this second phase of IPTV, NDS developed Synamedia Metro, an integrated, secure IPTV middleware platform which enables telcos to introduce IPTV services – in addition to making it possible to add on-demand and other interactive applications to their service bundles.

Synamedia Metro is designed to address and manage crucial issues like interoperability, scalability, flexibility and interactivity. It is designed to grow with the platform and it is flexible enough to work with different STBs using a consistent software implementation.

Equally important, NDS as an organization is large enough to provide solutions to major telecommunications companies. NDS meets all their needs with continued IPTV development and support coupled with the integration they require.

Third phase

Now that the technology exists to solve the challenges that emerged in the first and second development phases, the question is where does IPTV go from here?

In a word, the answer seems to be convergence. In this case convergence refers to the merging of entertainment and communications applications with a single user interface -- applications that combine IP communications with TV. This is a focus for all major telecommunications providers in the next phase of IPTV as operators are engaged in the continuous competitive struggle to offer more and better communications and entertainment services to their customers.

The next stage of convergence integrates platforms as diverse as TVs, STBs, PCs and mobile devices. Viewers increasingly want to consume content in a wider variety of settings and on a growing range of devices. Having built on its security expertise, NDS now offers content protection and digital rights management applications designed to meet these consumer requirements by enabling and securing content and applications on any consumer device, anywhere, at any time.

This is certainly not what early developers envisioned as IPTV applications. But in a market where the triple play is leading to the quadruple play and beyond, thinking outside the box isn’t enough.

NDS is demonstrating that it offers the technologies, flexibility and interoperability that are essential to expand from the traditional TV world of 15 years ago to the new world of ever-increasing possibilities.

For more information:
Synamedia Metro

According to Vikram Kaushik, Managing Director and CEO of Tata Sky Ltd, his company intends “to revolutionize Indian pay-TV viewing by offering superior digital quality picture and sound.” Last summer, when Tata Sky launched, it joined together the Tata Group, India’s most trusted operator, and Star TV, India’s leading entertainment company.

Vikram Kaushik has more than 30 years experience in consumer sales and marketing. He worked for some of India’s largest international companies, and has participated in their operations in Asia, Europe and the US.

Kaushik has set impressive goals for himself: “We want to have one million subscribers at the end of our first year of operation,” he says. He recently spoke to World Vision about his company and the Indian digital pay-TV market.

World Vision: Would you give me some background about Tata Sky, particularly how and when you got started?

Vikram Kaushik: Tata Sky is a joint venture between Tata and Star. After a “soft” launch in June 2006, our commercial launch was on August 8.

World Vision: Presumably the potential of the Indian market is based on its size. Obviously you can’t corner the entire market. Where do you see Tata Sky’s niche both now and in the future?

Kaushik: There are an estimated 115 million terrestrial television households in India in addition to another 68 million cable and satellite homes. This means we are a low margin/high volume market.

Having joined one of India’s most trusted broadcasters with one of the leading entertainment groups, we started in a leading position and plan to stay on top.

World Vision: Who is your target audience?

Kaushik: By offering a wide variety of news and entertainment options in different languages, we really try to reach out to every television home in India.

We reach out to the entire country irrespective of topography. This includes both urban and rural areas.

World Vision: Please describe your platform.

World Vision: Do your interactive offerings include more than news and games?

Kaushik: Absolutely. Taking news first, we offer Active Star News which is a new-age interactive service that really puts the viewer in control. Viewers can choose from four screens that give them current news, headlines, top stories and features. They can also scroll down to get weather forecasts in 35 cities and a stock ticker.

We have a second news offering, Active Khabar, which features four Hindi news channels on a single screen. This service is also available in English.

World Vision: What about games and other interactive applications?

Kaushik: We’re actually very proud of our games because many platforms only offer games for children, but the Tata Sky platform features games for viewers of all ages. Also, all of our games can be played with our regular remote. Viewers don’t have to invest in additional hardware.

For sport fans, we feature Active Sports which adds exclusive features to enhance cricket matches. Viewers have a choice of commentators, they can view game highlights on demand, and they can access player statistics – all with the push of a button.

We also offer Active Wizkids, the world’s first educational games for children between the ages of three and six, and Showcase, a pay-per-view interactive movies service offering the best from Hollywood and Bollywod.

World Vision: Who are your competitors and how do they measure up to Tata Sky?

Kaushik: There are currently two other players in our market: DD Direct which is government-owned and broadcasts only free-to-air channels, and Dish TV. But Tata Sky’s state-of-the-art infrastructure, as well as our brands, customer service and interactive offerings have put us ahead of the competition.

We also offer convenience. First, we have exclusive features like pay-per-view. But we also have customer service 24/7 that plays a part in our success. This includes direct installation by about 3,000 service engineers who are trained by Tata Sky as well as customer service associates who are trained to answer queries in 11 languages.

In addition to all of these features, we benefit from the [attractiveness] of both the Tata and Sky brands.

World Vision: In addition to size, what makes the Indian pay-TV market different from other markets?

Kaushik: First, the high penetration of cable throughout the country. In addition there is the general lack of addressability  and the lack of exclusive content – hich we are now developing.

World Vision: What future directions do you see for Tata Sky?

World Vision: How has NDS helped you realize your goals – past, present and future?

Kaushik: NDS played a key role in providing the end-to-end architecture to launch Tata Sky. In addition, the VideoGuard® conditional access system provides the superior broadcast security that enables Tata Sky to offer multiple programming and pricing packages.

For more information:

Tata Sky