According to Actminds director Fabio Frias, FITec has been actively participating in partnerships with other R&D institutions involved in the development of interactive middleware for the Brazilian DTV System. Within this program, FITec, and by extension ActMinds, is consolidating its position as a Center for Excellence in IPTV Systems and Applications.

At the Gartner Symposium and ITExpo, Actminds will showcase the scope of its knowledge base and existing experience in IPTV, in order to identify strategic partnerships with American Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Through these partnerships, Actminds also hopes to become a provider of high end IPTV R&D to Networking and Internetworking companies. Actminds – through FITec, offers both hardware and software design from system specification all the way to productization (overall product development solutions) and field support in VOIP, IPTV and Wireless Broadband Access.

It is expected that worldwide IP video services will more than quadruple, from under 2 million subscribers to over 8 million users in 2006 – just 2 years, as telecom companies explore new ways to expand their revenue. Like the United States, Brazil will be one of the regions fastest growing markets for IPTV, as local governments implement incentive policies for the dissemination of the technology which, it is expected, will drastically increase the number of Brazilians with access with Internet access.

Many US companies have been actively lobbying the US and Brazilian governments to adopt the US DTV standards, known as ATSC. If Brazil adopts a similar system to the US, Brazil will become both a key provider of emerging technologies for this market for the US, as well as the gateway for implementation of IPTV for all of Latin America. "This is a potentially huge market," said Fabio Frias, "and we are well placed to capture a large slice of the high end R&D which Networking and Internetworking companies will demand as the market expands."

ActMinds is a global provider of IT Solutions and R&D Services, offering a variety of high-quality customized services to key vertical markets, including banking & finance, telecom, manufacturing and healthcare. ActMinds offers the capabilities of a modern Outsourcing Development Center which, in association with strong capabilities in project management and the worldwide recognized Brazilian skills in software development, has produced an extensive track record of successful projects.

ActMinds receives promotional funding from Apex Brasil, Brazil's Trade and Investment Promotion Agency.

For more information or to schedule an interview with Fabio G. Frias please call Flavia Sekles at 202-471-4020.