For our latest interview with speakers confirmed to attend the IPTV World Forum 2010, taking place in London this March, we speak to Peter Hill, Vice President of Video and Converged Services at AT&T Labs.

Peter and his team are responsible for the software architecture of the AT&T network and BSS/OSS systems, and the lab’s efforts around video (IPTV) and service concepts (cross platform services such as iPhone Remote DVR, TV Everywhere, Caller ID to the TV, Web/TV integration etc).  He is also responsible for the AT&T Human Factors team, which serves as a centralised professional resource for AT&T as a whole.

AT&T's U-verse posted a very solid 2009, passing the 2mn customers mark last December.  What plans do you have to continue this growth through 2010, in terms of content and features?

PH: Just as we’ve been doing for the past three years, we’ll continue to make the U-verse service even better with new enhancements. You can also expect us to continue adding more innovative features and applications. We introduced 13 U-verse TV apps in 2009 alone – and at no extra cost to our customers. And our focus will be to continue to enhance the overall U-verse TV experience with more integration.

Our customers now have access to more than 115 high-definition channels.  We have also introduced a lot of international channels and packages including Mandarin, Japanese, Russian, Filipino and Italian.  I think you will see us continue to strive to deliver our customers the content they care about in the formats they care about.

We’re focused on apps that are easy to use, enhance content, and integrate the three-screens. You can see from the variety and types of apps we offer today where we’re headed, and this is really just the beginning.  

What new possibilities have grabbed your attention recently from the world of IPTV?

The TV is still about content and entertainment, and we’ve found customers are most interested in content-centric approaches that enhance — not distract — from that.  For us, it all starts with what our customers want.  With Whole Home DVR and the ability to simultaneously record four programs at the same time our customers can have the content they want on the TV they want it on. 

With special apps for major content events like the Masters or the Olympic Games, we’ve shown how apps can enhance people’s access to the information and content that they’re looking for, and how you can extend content and the IPTV experience to mobile devices and PCs.  

Apps put the consumer in control, so you can customise services and features to connect to the information that you desire. That’s really what AT&T — and AT&T U-verse — is all about.

Is 3D TV on your roadmap at some point for U-verse TV?

We’re very interested in 3D TV technologies, and we’re actively researching and testing these technologies in our labs today.   We don’t have any specific road map plans to announce today, but we’re very excited about the possibilities for 3D TV in an IPTV environment.

Do you think there will come a point soon where linear TV platforms cannot compete for subscribers with interactive platforms?

Absolutely.  Linear TV platforms are very limited when compared with IPTV, and given the changing patterns of how people consume their information, interactive platforms will become more and more desirable moving forward.

What technical challenges do you think remain for managed-network IPTV platforms in North America?

With over two million customers in service and U-verse TV ranked “Highest in Residential TV Satisfaction in the South and West Regions” two years in a row, we have the groundwork technical challenges behind us.  Most of the technical challenges that remain are the fun ones – how do we realise all these great new products and features to make the service even better.  What is really exciting is that the pipeline of new products and features is as rich today – if not richer – than it was when we began.