IPTV deployments are more about selling broadband than about selling television. While CSPs are leaders in the broadband space, they remain novices in the pay-TV market. Therefore, it is arguably more profitable for CSPs to maintain their position in the broadband segment than to become a leader in the pay-TV space, as TV is only one of the many revenue-generating applications that can be carried over broadband. For decades, voice services have been the bread-and-butter business for operators. However, over the past decade, CSPs have seen their voice revenues decline significantly, primarily due to fixed-to-mobile substitution. With declining voice revenues, broadband has become a key source of revenue for telcos. However, to sustain revenue growth and to differentiate their offerings, telcos must move beyond being just a provider of Internet access.

They need to leverage their network capabilities and provide enhanced services—essentially monetizing the broadband network further. IPTV is not a silver bullet for CSPs, but it is the first significant broadband service to emerge. It is the missing piece in the communications triple-play bundle, which is necessary in today's competitive markets, and it could be a powerful revenue preservation tool by enabling operators to replace their fading voice business with a growth business. But is it easy? Any content-driven proposition will face substantial competition in the media market, drive up costs by emphasizing content, and further drive CSPs away from a strong core competency built around enabling voice, data, and video. Infosys, as an E2E service provider working on both the elements of the IPTV network fabric and preparing the carriers for provision and delivery of IPTV, is in a unique role to explore the challenges in deploying and delivering IPTV.

Ram Kumar Associate Vice President, Product Engineering Infosys

Mr. Kumar heads up the product engineering client facing group, working to grow business in the product engineering space with responsibilities worldwide for PE business development, pre-sales support, marketing, consulting, and new service development. He has a track record of executive and operational leadership in building businesses around computing and communication infrastructure products and services. Most recently, Mr. Kumar was the founder and chief executive officer of WIncNet Corp., a wireless infrastructure firm focused on a mobility softswitch for enterprise VoIP and data mobility.

Eric Chan General Manager, Business Development and Planning Hutchison Telecom

Mr. Chan oversees business strategic planning, partnership, and alliance development and leads a team to develop new telecommunication products and new business streams such as ICT solutions and other value-added services for the company. He is a veteran in the telecommunications industry with more than 20 years of experience in engineering, marketing, product management, business development, and consultancy. Mr. Chan was instrumental in many network service developments in Hong Kong and has masterminded a wide range of strategic projects, including trading network and industry-wide platform.

Jason Chao Director, Technology and Business Development, IPTV Scientific-Atlanta, a Cisco Company

Mr. Chao is responsible for IPTV business development in the Asia-Pacific. He has worked for Scientific-Atlanta for more than six years, taking on various roles such as broadcast sales and engineering management. Mr. Chao is in a business development role focusing on IPTV. Mr. Chao has more than 15 years of experience in broadband communications.

Ross Pollack Senior Vice President, Distribution, Asia Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI)

Mr. Pollack has been in his current position since 2004. Based at SPTI's regional headquarters in Hong Kong, he heads SPTI's licensing group in Asia and is responsible for distribution of all Sony Pictures filmed entertainment, acquired products, and SPTI — produced product content in the region. Prior to his promotion, Mr. Pollack was named senior vice president of business development in Asia in 2003. He worked closely with the regional team to identify and develop new business opportunities in Asia for SPTI's three main lines of business — licensing, international production, and international networks.