ASPIS

ASPIS (A Secure Platform for IPTV Systems) is a EUREKA EUROSTARSproject with duration 24 months. It started in July 2009 and will end in July 2011. The consortium constitutes by PrimeTel, which is the coordinator of the project, Euro consultants (GREECE) the largest consultancy firm in Northern Greece, and. Global Security Intelligence a UK-based firm. This project was the first European project that PrimeTel is acting as a coordinator which is considered a very big success for the company and the R&D Department. 

The objective of the project is to develop a technical solution that will allow users to share their personal details in an easy, controlled and secure manner on the IPTV platform. This will lead to broader adoption of IPTV turning it into a vastly more interactive medium.

As TV systems are becoming more interactive, the traditional telemarketing should follow the trend and converge with online shopping, becoming an e-Commerce business. The availability of e-Commerce through a ubiquitous technology should particularly benefit the growing elderly population & disadvantaged groups, who would often find it more convenient to browse shops’ catalogs and make orders from the comfort of their own home, and who may not have or be comfortable with the use of a PC. However, the use of such systems would be extremely limited as it is not realistic to expect users to fill personal details required for the purchase using such unsuitable device as remote control and in many cases they would not entrust their financial details to an unknown third party.

ASPIS platform suggests a way to solve a number of problems of handling personal information in IPTV based applications, establishing a chain of trust between the customer and the application provider with the triple play service provider as the transaction mediator. It also addresses the problem of repeatedly filling in personal details. Moreover, it increases the security of one’s personal details as they are stored in one place, namely the triple play provider’s database, and shared in a controlled manner upon a confirmed request only.

The project will bring to fruition a new way of sharing personal information through IPTV in a secure and controlled manner, by allowing users to give their complete personal details profile to one trusted party and then explicitly selecting which pieces of this information would be shared with the third parties. In cases when payments for goods or services are required, the system would act as a transaction mediator. While the approach is well known in the web world, it would represent a completely new approach for IPTV services.

Furthermore IPTV ASPIS platform will open a new promotional medium for companies that choose to advertise and sell their products through e-commerce channels. This will in effect provide an innovative, easy and secure service to the IPTV auditory, which will also include those who are not considered as typical average online shoppers.