TelcoTV 2008 ready to roll

The premier event on the North America telco TV landscape will be kicking off in just one week, when many in the market will be converging on Anaheim, Calif. They won't be headed to Disneyland (well, maybe later in the week); they'll be getting together for TelcoTV 2008. But, before you head to Anaheim, be sure to check out our TelcoTV Preview this Thursday, Nov. 6.

TelcoTV is one of the only events in the U.S. that really features equal floor time for both large and small telcos, so attendees will get the full story on the progress of telco TV in North America.

Keynote speakers for next week's event include Dan York, executive vice president of content for AT&T, and Eric Bruno, senior vice president of consumer product management and development for Verizon Communications. Both of these companies showed strong TV subscriber growth during the third quarter, so we'll be looking forward to hearing what will be next from them in terms of new TV capabilities and service packages. We're guessing both will address the future integration of TV and online video in some way.

In addition, several Tier 2 and Tier 3 telco execs will be speaking at the conference, according to show organizers:

  • Rob Koester, Senior Manager, Broadband Product Development, Consolidated Communications
  • Jeremy Graves, COO, Marketing, Sales & Competitive Services, Valley Telecom Group
  • Mike Steciuk, Director of Technical Services, MTS Allstream
  • Scott Watts, IPTV Manager, North State Communications
  • Dale Merten, COO, Toledo Telephone
  • Derrick Bulawa, General Manager & CEO, BEK Communications
  • Bruce Holdridge, Director of Commercial Operations, Zona Communications
  • Mitch Emerson, VP Sales, Backspace Communications
  • Brandon Zupancic, Director of Network Operations, Canby Telcom
  • Mike Nawrocki, Director of Standards, Verizon
  • Larry January, Technical Analyst, Panhandle Telephone Cooperative

The event comes at an intriguing time for telco TV players. Many carriers have made an initial push to gain subscribers, and might be ready for the next phase of developing their offerings into a mature service. But, some vendors might be concerned that telco TV investment could dip as new service rollouts slow and macro-economic pressure take a toll. After TelcoTV 2008, be sure to return to the FierceIPTV Editor's Corner for a full review of the event and implications of what we learned there.

-Dan