IPTV NETWORK DISTRIBUTION TECHNOLOGIES

It looks like IPTV is well on its way to becoming a popular means for delivering digital TV services to consumers. Owing to the nature of IPTV, a high speed distribution networking platform is required to underpin the delivery of IP based content. The purpose of this network is to move bits of data back and forth between the IPTV consumer device and the service provider’s IPTV data center. It needs to do this in a manner that does not affect the quality of the video stream delivered to the IPTV subscriber, and it is up to each IPTV provider to decide on the type and sophistication of the network architecture required to support their IPTV services.

An IPTV network architecture consists of two parts the “last mile” broadband distribution and the centralized or core backbone. A wide variety of networks, including cable systems, copper telephone, wireless, and satellite networks may be used to deliver advanced IPTV network services over the last mile section of the network. The delivery of video over all of these different types of networks comes with its own set of challenges. The majority of this chapter focuses on describing these key technology platforms. Once the key delivery platforms are covered, the chapter concludes with an analysis of the two primary core networking technologies and a brief overview of network factors that affect the deployment of IPTV services.

“LAST MILE” BROADBAND DISTRIBUTION NETWORK TYPES

One of the primary challenges faced by IPTV service providers is providing enough bandwidth capacity in the network segment that lies between the core backbone and the end-users’ home. A number of terms are used to describe this segment ranging from local loop and last mile to edge and broadband access network.

There are six different types of broadband access networks that are scalable enough to meet the
bandwidth requirements of IPTV:

. Through a network built with fiber
. Via an DSL network
. Via a cable TV network
. Via a satellite based network
. Via a fixed wireless broadband connection
. Via the Internet


Different service providers operate each system. The following sections give a
technical overview of these platforms when used in an IPTVend-to-end networking
infrastructure.