The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) has expanded the remit of its IPTV Interoperability Forum (IIF) to include the standardised delivery of Internet-sourced content over a managed IPTV network.

It was reportedly agreed at ATIS' Board of Directors meeting last May that the IIF should identify and prioritise issues concerning Internet-sourced content, including quality of service and media format issues, with a view to developing specifications needed to standardise the delivery of Internet-sourced content to subscribers of IPTV services.

“Increasingly, content owners are turning to the Internet to bring archival and niche content to viewers,” said Dan O'Callaghan, Chairman of the IIF and Principal Member of Technical Staff for Verizon Communications. “The Internet being a non-managed network does not ensure a quality of experience. The IIF will work on setting standards that will improve the customer's quality of experience when accessing content that traverses the Internet.”

Susan Miller, President and CEO of ATIS, added: “Expansion into the Internet-sourced content space is a natural step, given the IIF’s inclusive approach to standardisation. We believe this expansion will offer end-users more choices, and further the IIF’s larger goal: IPTV standardisation."