Question 7/9 - Cable television delivery of digital services and applications that use Internet protocol (IP) and/or packet-based data
(Continuation of Question 7/9)
Motivation In their conversion to digital television, cable television systems in many countries are also provisioning very high-speed bidirectional data facilities intended to support, among other payloads, those utilizing Internet protocol (IP). These facilities can also be used to supply other digital services to the home, based on packet-data, exploiting the broadband capacity provided by hybrid fibre/coaxial (HFC) digital cable television systems, and interconnecting local, geographically distinct digital cable television systems through direct connections or managed backbones.
The envisaged range of packet-based data services to be provided encompasses those services and applications that are based on the use of IP. It also encompasses among others, digital bidirectional (interactive) television and sound-programme cablecasting, advanced interactive television, sound-programme and multimedia services, video conference and video telephony.
The technology considered for the delivery of those packet-based data services over the cable television infrastructure utilizes the relevant transmission protocols, including IP and enhancements thereof.
The peculiarities common to the range of services to be provided are:
- the use of modern and future hybrid bidirectional fibre/coax television cable networks;
- the use of the transmission methods specified for those networks;
- the use of the architecture and modems specified for those networks;
- compliance with the specifications and QoS peculiar to those networks;
- capability for real time (low latency) operation for interactive services that require it;
- interoperability with relevant transmission protocols for packet-based data, notably IP.
Question Study items to be considered include, but are not limited to:
- What are the services that could desirably be provided over the digital cable television infrastructure, by means of packet-based data transmission?
- What are the functionalities that each service should be able to provide in order to meet its service requirements?
- What are the specifications for converting quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM)-based data to IP-based data?
- Which open protocols can be used for the envisaged services, preferably choosing them among those already recommended for packet-based data by other bodies, or identifying the need for appropriate enhancements to them, paying attention to their desirable interoperability with IP?
- Which specification should be recommended for the mechanisms to be provided for each considered service, in order to allow its future extension to further functionalities?
- In particular, for those services and applications that utilize IP, the following specific questions should be studied:
- which user requirements apply to the provision of digital services that support applications utilizing IP and operate over bidirectional cable television systems?
- which digital interfaces are needed to support applications utilizing IP over cable television systems?
- Which systems implications for cable television systems derive from the requirement that they should be able to support digital services and applications that utilize IP?
- What enhancements to existing Recommendations are required to provide energy savings directly or indirectly in information and communication technologies (ICTs) or in other industries? What enhancements to developed or new Recommendations are required to provide such energy savings?
Tasks Tasks include, but are not limited to:
- Preparation of draft new Recommendations providing specifications and recommended operating practices. Depending on the contributions received, and on progress in the preparatory activity of the rapporteur, the studies should be completed by 2016.
An up-to-date status of work under this Question is contained in the Study Group 9 work programme (
http://itu.int/ITU-T/workprog/wp_search.aspx?sp=15&q=7/9).
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