IT Expo explorers walk for miles in search of extra spice in the IT industry.  However, how much can they really find As Walt Witman once portrayed through his poem “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”, a single look up at the sky beats ten thousand great lectures of astronomy. Where then, do IT students and professionals go when they want to feel the real thing Exhibitions like ITC 2009 is a perfect getaway site.

3 Different paths of IPTV shown at ITC 2009

SK Telecom: We are the original

There were only three IPTV-related booths at ITC 2009, but they were more than enough to represent different visions and paths of the future IPTV market. SK Telecom, one of the national IPTV leaders, showed visitors its 85,000 Video on Demand (VOD) library, which updates 2 to 3 days a week. The rerun era has passed us. It was clear that IPTV today and in the future will allow viewers to watch any program of personal interest at any time they desire. Other features included a USB connection to the set-top box to view personal photos, an internet connection to play online games on TV, and the same real-time channels that current TVs provide. With the largest number of possession in content, SK Telecom showed clear signs of IPTV commercialization in the near future.

 

Gangseo District Office: We will make you a star

A government-run ward office was found at the IPTV booth as well. Gangseo District Office offered a truly unique opportunity with the catchphrase, “Local broadcasting station where its own townspeople are cast as the main characters!” SK Telecom IPTV viewers could sign up to receive the Gangseo District Office channel for free which provides 8 menus within that shows local sports on spotlight, various contests that were conducted within the communities, and a documentary on the honorary citizen of the Gangseo district. Restaurants to visit and community center information can also be found. If the viewer wishes to sign up for the Ganseo District Office IPTV channel, the cost is only W9,900 (US$8.00). Those who live in other districts can also subscribe to a channel to interact with the Gangseo District. If cable TV shows Major League sports and celebrity documentaries, why not use IPTV to make every citizen a hero of the community Gangseo District Office suggested a future revolution of broadcasting content in the IPTV industry.

Microsoft and Alcatel-Lucent:

We create global market environments for IPTV content

Microsoft and Alcatel-Lucent were also spotted at the IPTV zone. Securing the max amount of content and showing community members as local heroes are not all there is to IPTV. Yes, IPTV is currently not a golden goose, yet is this the way we want to keep it in the future Once its concept and idea are generalized by the market, the next step will be to launch the global market. While the domestic IPTV market is too occupied at the moment to meet the expectations of current and future subscribers, Microsoft and Alcatel-Lucent together showed their movement to prepare for the global IPTV market in the future. “Do we have an environment that branches out our content to abroad is the question we must ask ourselves at this point. Content policy will soon open its door. Could domestic companies then be ready to send their IPTV content to Koreatown, for instance, in America” pointed out Kim Byoung-soo, business development manager of Alcaltel-Lucent Korea. In the long run, global clients of Microsoft and Alcatel-Lucent like AT&T and British Telecom are indeed the assets to win the subscriber battle. It surely would have quite disappointed the visitors if all three IPTV booths in a zone had to compete under the same vision and similar strengths. By seeing the different paths each IPTV service providers were heading at ITC 2009, a check mark is given to approve its bright future through fair competition.