ATIS/MSF Partnership Puts IPTV Standards to the Test

LAS VEGAS--(Business Wire)--
Key IPTV building blocks relating to authentication and
initialization will be put to the test when ATIS joins forces with the
MultiService Forum (MSF) for the MSF's biennial Global MSF
Interoperability (GMI) event to be held October 20-31, 2008. ATIS and
MSF announced the new partnership and list of participating vendors
for GMI 2008 today.

The partnership between ATIS and the MSF brings together ATIS'
global reach in IPTV standards development with the MSF's proven
success at validating key Next Generation Network (NGN) concepts. The
ATIS IPTV Interoperability Forum (IIF) is recognized globally as the
leading developer of IPTV requirements, standards, and specifications,
and this new partnership will validate the IIF's efforts.

The preliminary list of vendor participants announced today
include Acme Packet, Codenomicon, Empirix, Huawei, NEC, Nokia-Siemens
Networks, Nortel, OSI, Starent, Teles and ZTE.

"GMI 2006 proved that IMS architecture was ready for real world
deployment," commented Roger Ward, Office of the CTO, BT Group and
President of the MSF. "Now the main emphasis at GMI 2008 will be to
show that key emerging services, such as IPTV, can effectively
leverage this enabling infrastructure."

"As the leading IPTV standards development organization, it is
fitting that ATIS is the first SDO to formally demonstrate key
components of its IPTV architecture at GMI 2008," stated ATIS
President and CEO Susan M. Miller. "The IIF has developed a fully open
standardized IPTV architecture supported by security and quality
metrics, and we are excited to validate this capability in the truly
realistic, end-to-end network deployment scenario provided by GMI
2008."

The MSF announced last month the carrier, government, and academic
laboratories agreeing to host GMI 2008 - Verizon, NCS and UNH-IOL in
the USA will work with BT/Vodafone in Europe and China Mobile in Asia
to create a "real world" global network to verify the interoperability
of critical NGN elements in a range of practical scenarios. Building
on the success of previous events, GMI 2008 includes additional test
laboratories, enhanced test scenarios and a wider range of service
capabilities including end-to-end Quality of Service (QoS), Location
Management and Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) as well as IPTV.
MSF welcomes the addition of ATIS IIF and the expertise the IIF
members bring to the MSF IPTV scenario for GMI 2008.

"We have been very successful in attracting companies to
participate in the ATIS IIF that represent every element of the entire
IPTV ecosystem - from the network operator, to the network equipment
and set-top box manufacturers, to the middleware solutions provider,
and the content providers," added Susan M. Miller. "Together, we are
making enormous strides and delivering standards that will support
successful deployment of IPTV and the unique and interactive
entertainment experience that IPTV promises to deliver. Participating
in GMI 2008 gives us additional 'real world' credibility by allowing
us to test our work under the most demanding conditions across a
global network."

About GMI 2008

GMI 2008 - the Global MSF Interoperability event - will link major
carrier, government, and academic labs on three continents in a major
demonstration of multi-vendor interoperability between a significant
number of NGN elements supporting Implementation Agreements developed
in support of the MSF Release 4 Architecture and practical deployment
scenarios of interest to major carriers. GMI 2008 will be held from
October 20-31, 2008. http://www.msforum.org/interoperability/GMI.shtml

About the MSF

The MultiService Forum (MSF) is a global association of service
providers, system suppliers and test equipment vendors committed to
developing and promoting open-architecture, multiservice Next
Generation Networks. Founded in 1998, the MSF is an open-membership
organization comprised of the world's leading telecommunications
companies. The MSF's activities include developing Implementation
Agreements, promoting worldwide compatibility and interoperability of
network elements, and encouraging input to appropriate national and
international standards bodies. http://www.msforum.org/

About ATIS

ATIS is a leading technical and operations standards development
organization, dedicated to the rapid development and promotion of
worldwide interoperable, implementable, end-to-end industry standards.
ATIS' over 300 member companies participate in over 22 industry
committees and Incubator Solutions Programs and work on
standardization activities for wireless and wireline networks,
including interconnection standards, number portability, improved data
transmission, Internet telephony, toll-free access, telecom fraud, and
order and billing issues. For more information, please visit
www.atis.org.

About the ATIS IPTV Interoperability Forum (IIF)

The ATIS IPTV Interoperability Forum (IIF) is recognized globally
as the leading developer of requirements, standards, and
specifications for Internet Protocol Television, or IPTV. More than 40
ATIS member companies are actively engaged in ATIS' IPTV
standardization efforts through the ATIS IIF, including
Alcatel-Lucent, AT&T, BT, Cisco, Intel, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia
Siemens Networks, Nortel, Qwest, Sun Microsystems, and Verizon, among
others. For more information, please visit www.atis.org/iif.

ATIS
Erin Barlow, 202-434-8851
ebarlow@atis.org
www.atis.org
or
MultiService Forum (MSF)
USA & EMEA:
Zonic Group PR
Bruce Reid, +44 1672 591292
breid@zonicgroup.com
or
Asia Pacific:
Zonic PR Asia
Shirley Yeh, +8621 5115 4551 x 1221
syeh@ZonicGroup.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008