The business case for telcos in Latin America entering the video market depends inherently on whether they can upgrade their networks cost-effectively. Many smaller operators do not have the resources to offer HD premium content. However by leveraging a centralized IPTV head end, telcos can share the major infrastructure, which significantly lowers the barriers and risks of investment in CAPEX and OPEX to enter the IPTV market.

Through this model, telcos also benefit from centralized content security. In order to be effective, the content security must include support for any combination of centralized or distributed subscriber management, including mixes of middleware and set-top boxes to meet specific local needs. These architectures are designed to support an enhanced subscriber experience with rich content offerings in a seamless lineup, while enhancing overall distribution integrity and operational costs with a unified content security model.

This panel will explore all of the reseller models available today and how telcos can best take advantage of them.

Steve Oetegenn Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Verimatrix

Mr. Oetegenn's career in the information technology industry spans 25 years. He has a wide range of experience in international business, having launched numerous high-tech products to the global marketplace. Prior to joining Verimatrix, he was chief operating officer of MediaSec Technologies LLC, a pioneer and leader in the field of digital watermarking. He was also chief operating officer of Argus Systems Group, a leading provider of Internet server security software. Mr. Oetegenn has specialized in digital security and anti-piracy since 1998, working with government agencies, Fortune 500 companies, and major Hollywood studios.

John Allen Founder DigiSoft.tv

Mr. Allen founded DigiSoft.tv in 2000. Mr. Allen's technical background, coupled with his expertise in systems and iTV process flow, keep him very much a part of the DigiSoft visionary team. Prior to this, he managed outsourced digital media software projects to the European Television industry, particularly in Germany, the United Kingdom, and Italy. He holds a B.Sc. in computer science from University College Cork in Ireland and has more than 13 years experience in the development and deployment of commercial software solutions.

Alvaro Gazzolo President and Chief Executive Officer IPTV Americas

Mr. Gazzolo, the founder of IPTV Americas, has taken the company from a project to full deployment and implementation of the first SD MPEG-4 head end in Latin America. This gives the telcos in Latin America a solution to offer triple play with their present network infrastructure and considerably improve the time to market for their IPTV service. Mr. Gazzolo was the president of IMC, a consulting firm that provided services to private equity companies and venture capitalists in the broadcasting, telecommunications, and multimedia industries in Latin America for the purpose of investing or acquisition.

Bob Kulakowski Chief Technology Officer Verimatrix

Mr. Kulakowski areas of expertise include embedded systems, networking TCP/IP, telecommunications, system design, OEM marketing, software licensing, and IP protection. As chief technical officer of Verimatrix, he developed system architecture, co-wrote with Ross Cooper the company's patents, managed development of Windows and Linux software for digital media content protection and security, managed development of embedded software for Windows CE, VX-Works and Linux based set-top box software, and managed development of the audio content protection system.