IBM has announced plans to develop a demonstration platform for
delivering secure digital broadband content to home users in
partnership with the Telematics Institute and Philips Electronics'
research division.
The aim of the group, called the Telematics Institute, IBM, Philips
Secure Content Initiative (TIPSCI), is to create an integrated
end-to-end service provider platform that would supply consumers
with broadband content such as music, video and games through the
alignment of existing content management and distribution
systems.
As part of the working agreement signed in the Netherlands earlier
this week, TIPSCI will research the security of content, digital
rights management, quality of service provisions as well as the
speed and manageability of home communications networks. The first
phase of the project is expected to be completed by the fourth
quarter of 2003, the group said.
"We are looking at existing forms of content management and
distribution to start with but that may change with time," said
Erik van den Akker, the IBM alliance director for Philips. "What
happens in the future, and how long the project lasts all depends
on the success of what we deliver. In terms of business models,
that is part of the project but it is also to be decided further
into the project."
Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
IBM will contribute expertise in networking and service provider
infrastructures, content management software and digital rights
management (DRM) software. Philips will offer advise on consumer
electronics devices and home networks, including set-top boxes and
end-user devices for audio and video.
"We have partnered with Philips because it is very strong in the
home consumer market, and IBM is not. We think that IBM and Philips
are very compatible. People are very worried about security, be it
the security of their personal information, or companies being
worried about the security of their content," van den Akker
said.
The Telematics Institute will contribute research expertise in the
areas of content engineering, personalised services and business
models, the group said. The Institute, located in Enschede, the
Netherlands, receives combined management and funding from the
Dutch government and companies such as IBM, KPN and Lucent
Technologies.