Suppliers team up to speed IPTV

Telecom equipment maker Alcatel is teaming up with Amdocs, which makes software that handles billing and service provisioning, to help telephone carriers speed up the introduction of Internet protocol-based TV. The companies announced Tuesday that they will pre-test and pre-certify that their products will work together, so that carriers don't have to integrate those products themselves. That should help carriers reduce the time and cost associated with installing an IPTV network.

Earlier this year, Amdocs signed a similar agreement with Microsoft, another IPTV supplier and a close partner of Alcatel. Those companies also plan to engage in joint sales and marketing efforts, and they've begun development of an interoperability lab that will simulate real-world production environments. Alcatel, Amdocs and Microsoft have already worked on several accounts together including SBC Communications' Project LightSpeed.