Telcos face a growing challenge from their competitors in the cable television operator and wireless telephone industries. Metropolitan cable service operators (MSOs) offer new Internet access and voice over IP (VoIP) telephone services—along with digital video and television—that encroach on the market and revenue of telcos. And consumers are choosing the convenience of personal wireless telephones over traditional wireline service. Telcos need a competitive edge that leverages their industry-leading position with broadband digital subscriber line (DSL) technology to offer new services that effectively compete with cable and give them new revenue opportunities with their customers. The IP video services (IPTV) market presents attractive revenue-generating forecasts, and a new video compression standard, H.264/AVC, enables a compelling solution for telcos to engage in IPTV.……