The National Association of Broadcasters today announced Telecom@NAB2007—a new conference series and exhibition for telecom professionals and network operators. Leveraging NAB's decades of expertise in the delivery of video and audio content to consumer audiences, the new event is co-produced by telecom industry consultants Lightbulb Communications, headed by former USTelecom executive John Abel. The new conference series takes place on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, April 16-18, in conjunction with NAB2007 in Las Vegas.

NAB says Telecom@NAB2007 will address "the needs of telecom professionals, telecom business entrepreneurs and network operators who are deploying next generation video networks or who plan to do so in the future. Telecom professionals attending the conference series will tap into the world's largest marketplace of professional electronic media tools and technologies, and interact with content owners and creators representing the broadcasting and film communities."

"The annual NAB Show is the proven technology destination for video production and distribution," said NAB President and CEO David K. Rehr. "We are excited to announce this addition to NAB2007's offerings for telcos on the cutting edge of IPTV and broadband video."

Telecom@NAB2007 expands on NAB's existing conferences, including workshops on podcasting, video production and digital cinema. Plus, NAB added, "Telecom@NAB2007 complements our highly regarded executive programs on IPTV and Mobile TV (co-produced by iHollywood Forum); comprehensive programs on broadcasting engineering and management; as well as super sessions on the newest and hottest digital media technology topics."

"Telecom@NAB2007 is about digital video technology, learning, networking with other telecom professionals, and developing joint business ventures leveraging the content of local broadcasters everywhere," said Lightbulb President and CEO John D. Abel. "It is also the place where telecom service providers can find out what their competitors in the video marketplace are doing."

There are five elements to Telecom@NAB2007:

Telecom Technology Papers—This forum (Tuesday, April 17 and Wednesday, April 18) presents telecom technology papers authored by the thought leaders in the field. Sample topics include next generation broadband networks, video quality metrics and QOS, testing and monitoring, video coding, IPv6, FTTx and POTS/DSL combo and GPON/BPON.

Broadband Video Conference—This conference (Monday, April 16 and Tuesday, April 17) concentrates on acquisition and manipulation of content (encoding, ingestion, compressing, editing), the value of telecom service providers working with local broadcasters to acquire local content, case studies of successful telecom video deployments and presentations by content and application providers.

Telecom Video Production Crash Course—This workshop (Wednesday, April 18) is for a select group of telecom company professionals who want to learn the basics of video production and what it takes to acquire, ingest and distribute content. The workshop covers non-linear editing, video rendering, video compression, encoding, format selection, cameras and small format video operations. The concept is to learn how to manage digital video and digital content in small operations and propose suggested business models for broadband video distribution. This workshop is specially tailored to the needs of telecom network operators seeking an understanding of the complexities of video and the special requirements to handle video through broadband distribution.

Telecom Supplier Exhibits—This highly focused and intimate exhibit area explores the relevant technologies involved with deploying video. Since the exhibits are dedicated to IP/broadband video, this area is designed for carriers to network with telecom suppliers.

Show Floor Tours—Registrants of Telecom@NAB2007 can participate in customized and guided tours of the main NAB exhibit floor. From video production to distribution to and in the consumer's home, each tour focuses on a different segment of the IP/broadband video ecosystem.