If you take a quick look at the three largest bell next generation network and television plans, you'll notice they all have one thing in common: Microsoft. Judging from early attempts to implement Microsoft's solution overseas, that may not be a good thing.

•Verizon: Fios fiber to the home in select neighborhoods. Between 5 and 30MBps will be data bandwidth, the rest going toward video services. Microsoft has been signed as the software provider for their set-top boxes, and their TV service should start springing up in Fios wired markets mid-year.

•SBC: Fiber to the node (or curb), with VDSL to the home in select neighborhoods. SBC claims users will see 20-25Mbps worth of connectivity (data and video) to half of their subscribers (18 million users) within three years. Microsoft will handle the set-top software as part of a $400 million deal. SBC says they'll begin field trials of the TV service they've dubbed "U-Verse" in the middle of this year, with some IP-TV deployment towards the end.

•BellSouth:Fiber to the curb, with ADSL2+ to the home (eventually VDSL2). They hope to offer 12Mbps of bandwidth over a single copper line, or 24MBps over a line-bonded pair, offering a measly 4-6Mbps at first; Microsoft will handle the software for their set-top device.

The problem? According to this Register/Faultline report, Swisscom is having a hell of a time getting Microsoft's television software to actually work. While a large number of European providers are off and running using other solutions, Swisscom is finding Microsoft's solution expensive, clumsy, and difficult to manage.

It would appear Microsoft's typical business approach may backfire when it comes to IPTV. The report faults their system for being "overly complicated and impenetrable to the competition, an attempt to engineer an interface shut-out in the TV markets". Microsoft's solution also costs six times more than competing solutions.

The report also claims BellSouth/Micrsosoft IPTV trials have disappointed the bell, so they may decide to look at other solutions. With Verizon's launch the closest, they may be locked into using the Microsoft technology. Unless SBC goes with VDSL2, they might face a double whammy: dealing with troublesome Microsoft software and the bandwidth crunch of trying to deliver IPHD signal to multiple televisions.