ITU app challenge for IPTV

ITU’s latest global Application Challenge is encouraging developers around the world to create innovative IPTV apps running over ITU standards.
Applicants are encouraged to think creatively about the IPTV platform and the opportunities it offers. The best app submitted by an individual or SME* will be awarded USD10,000, thanks to platinum sponsors Sumitomo Electric Networks, Inc. and Dentsu Inc. There is a separate category for corporate entries, and winners will receive their awards at a special event at the ITU Telecom World 2011 show in Geneva in October.

While highlighting the rapidly expanding range of the IPTV ecosystem, this latest ITU App Challenge is designed to stimulate ground-breaking ideas from all corners of the globe.

“ITU has pioneered a raft of standards for IPTV, which are set to transform global viewing habits. Global standards such as these will be key to take-up,” said Dr Hamadoun Touré, Secretary-General, ITU. “With this technology we have all the advantages of traditional ‘linear’ TV combined with the flexibility that the Internet offers. This challenge offers a fantastic opportunity for people to be creative, and I hope we can inspire some truly innovative thinking.”

IPTV represents a major new business opportunity for telcos, content providers and existing broadcasters. ITU’s IPTV standards are being incorporated in product offerings from vendors and service providers around the world. The standards cover a wide range of topics including interactive services, content location, terminal specifications, metadata and QoS.
Companies from Brazil, China, Japan, Korea, France, and elsewhere have already implemented ITU’s IPTV standards in commercial TV and set top box products. In China and Japan, ITU IPTV is already deployed with several million subscribers. A test service is being conducted in Singapore, with test beds to start shortly in India, Canada, China, Thailand and France.
ITU App Challenge entrants are encouraged to be as creative as they like. Potential areas of focus could include:

Those wishing to enter the competition must register by 16 September 2011, and entries must be submitted between 1 August and 23 September inclusive. Full details, including technical descriptions of the applicable ITU standards, are available at www.itu.int/challenges/iptv

* Follow Gadget on Twitter on @gadgetza