On Monday, March 20, in Las Vegas, Light Reading and its market research division, Heavy Reading, in cooperation with leading equipment vendors, will host an exclusive one-day conference: Next-Gen Broadband Networks. The conference will provide attendees with an exclusive and intensive education on the latest developments and trends in next-generation broadband networks and triple-play services, emphasizing IPTV. This event is scheduled to coincide with the opening of TelecomNEXT.*

Service providers worldwide are building new and/or enhanced broadband networks for the tremendous growth coming from next-generation IP video services. The emphasis will be on how broadband access, edge/aggregation, and transport networks are evolving specifically to support next-generation IPTV services. Next-Gen Broadband Networks will examine video-specific service infrastructure designed to deliver a host of IPTV services, from the evolution of home networking CPE and IP STBs, to the various software, storage, server, and content processing technology components needed to deliver reliable multicast and/or unicast SD/HD IPTV via broadband.

Next-Gen Broadband Networks will closely explore several key trends, including:

• Triple-Play Services & Service Infrastructure
  In this session we’ll look at the impact that triple-play services (emphasizing IPTV) are having on the service infrastructure. This panel will start by defining the next-generation SD and HD IP video services that are shaping carriers’ triple-play bundles, whether they are delivered via multicast or unicast. It will also examine the technology evolution all the way from the networked home (CPE, STB, home networking) to the carrier service infrastructure, including VOD, PVR/nPVR, CA/DRM, middleware, and headend content processing.
• Next-Generation Broadband Network Infrastructure
  In this session we’ll review the impact that IPTV and other triple-play services will have on various aspects of the next-generation broadband network. Video is a change agent that is driving service providers to reevaluate products and network architectures. This session will examine the changes underway in broadband access (xDSL, FTTx, and broadband wireless), as well as edge/aggregation (carrier Ethernet, B-RAS, edge routing) and metro transport (xWDM, ROADM, next-gen Sonet, Ethernet over optical, etc.). Lastly, with the introduction of IP video, policy control and service assurance become critical and will thus be explored.