It seems like confusion was in the air at an IPTV workshop last week at the Fall 2006 VON (the "Global IP Communications Industry Event" in Boston). Telephony magazine, which sponsored the IPTV workshop, reported: "…it was also clear for the 150-plus attendees today that, while it’s certain telecom service providers must compete with cable and do so immediately, it’s much less certain which network approach will serve them well in doing so."

Following presentations from Verizon and BellSouth, the mostly telco audience had no shortage of questions, ranging from “How do you know if you have enough bandwidth?" to "What’s the greater risk, taking longer to build out an all-fiber network or building a near-term fiber rich network that doesn’t go all the way into the home?” Perhaps the Telephony writer summarized it best as she began to recap the workshop: "It’s clear that there is still uncertainty among telecom service providers when it comes to what form of fiber optic access network makes the most sense – fiber to the premises, fiber to the curb or fiber to the node." Just imagine how things would’ve heated up if a cable operator had actually been in the room.