Over 200 delegates from top global telecommunication companies, regulators and Government Ministries are expected to attend the seventh and final conference on Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) being hosted in Malta next month.

IPTV is basically a way of getting TV transmitted over high-speed internet connections. It can be transmitted live or stored on a server and sent to computers or straight to special set-top boxes, over ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber lines), or cable lines.  IPTV not only provides people with more applications for their fast connections, but it also expands opportunities for telecoms companies and provides and wider choice for viewers.

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the specialised UN agency on telecommunications, has taken the lead in the international standardisation for IPTV, which enables digital television to be delivered to consumers using the Internet Protocol over a broadband connection. The standards agreed at the Malta conference will be adopted and approved at next year’s World Standardisation Assembly for eventual execution. The mission of FG IPTV is to coordinate and promote the development of global IPTV standards taking into account the existing work of the ITU study groups as well as Standards Developing Organizations, Fora and Consortia.

When giving details on the conference, Censu Galea, Minister for Competitiveness and Communications, said that Malta is playing an important role in public policy and regulatory issues related to posts and electronic communications. “The Malta conference is laying the groundwork for an area of telecommunications that could attract up to 100 million subscribers in the next three years”.

A host of global ICT companies will send delegates from various Countries including China, Japan Korea, the United States, Canada and Europe. These companies include Alcatel-Lucent, Microsoft, Intel, Cisco Systems, Samsung, LG Electronics, Toshiba, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Nokia, Deutche Telecom, France Telecom, BT, Huawei Technologies, Sony and Siemens. There should also be considerable interest from the international media.

The conference of the International Telecommunications Union’s Focus Group on IPTV is being held in co-ordination with the Ministry for Competitiveness and Communications at the Dolmen Resort Hotel, Qawra, from December 11-18. The conference will devote a great deal of its time to working group sessions, leading up to a final conference report on December 18.