8:00 AM -- For network operators, over-the-top (OTT) content is typically greeted with uncertainty, animosity and the unmistakeable sound of spectrum crunching. Now, though, there's evidence that some operators are at least addressing the issue, rather than just complaining about it -- or even ignoring it.

Service providers -- wireless and pay TV alike -- know they need to deal with the OTT issue, either by partnering or competing, or some combination of the two. But in order to do so, they have to know exactly what they're dealing with.

Really understanding OTT content -- optimizing, analyzing and even monetizing it -- is the topic of a panel I'll be moderating on Sept. 10 at the The International Institute of Telecommunications (IIT) 's Real-Time Communications conference here in Chicago.

Now, it's not often one gets asked to moderate a panel that brings together heavy hitters from AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) and Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) with a remit to get as technical as possible.

But that's the position I find myself in as I prepare for the panel, titled "What's Underneath OTT?"

With panelists from both the wireless and pay-TV sectors of the industry, we're going to cover a lot of ground, including how to bridge the gap between the two, ensuring quality of experience and security across any device, how to approach the cloud, content issues, emerging standards and, of course, how to make money from OTT traffic.

And, as panelist Jose de Francisco Lopez, a marketing director at Alcatel-Lucent, points out, finding out what's underneath OTT is no longer a job just for the network engineers to handle. The network world is merging with the IT world in the cloud, and you can bet the panel will delve into how service providers are Bridging the Chasm as they develop their Service Provider Information Technology (SPIT) strategies. (See The SPIT Manifesto 2.0 and Bridging the Chasm: A Manifesto.)

If you have questions for the panelists, feel free to leave them in the comments section below. And, go ahead, get as technical as you want -- they aren't scared!

Even better, hope to see some of you in the Windy City on Monday for the IIT's show.

For more

• Six Dead – Or Dying – 'Cable Killers'
• Vodafone Joyns Fight Against OTT Threat
• Entone Mixes Cable, OTT
• Will Cable Face an OTT Block Party?
• Netflix's Path Into MSOs Becomes Clearer

— Sarah Reedy, Senior Reporter, Light Reading Mobile