MobiTV has smashed through the two million paying subscriber barrier, having doubled its audience in less than 12 months.
The US company, which powers mobile TV services for the likes of Sprint, AT&T, 3 and Orange UK, says it can now offer more than a hundred channels across 150 handsets.
Since passing the one million subscriber mark in April last year, MobiTV has landed $100 million in VC cash to fund development of WiMAX/DVB-H delivery and interactive advertising models.
It has also moved into the Latin American market, securing 14 operator distribution deals in the region.
Phillip Alvelda, CEO and co-founder of MobiTV, said: “The recent hype in the mobile media space isn’t all that surprising given the new contenders looking to enter the marketplace some time later this year. But nothing tells an unequivocal story of success quite like a subscriber base soaring past two million and growing faster than ever before.”
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Verizon Wireless to launch Vcast Mobile TV March 1
Verizon Wireless will begin offering mobile television on March 1, according to coverage maps on the carrier’s Web site.
No further details were offered, and the maps offered the caveat that mobile TV would be available only in “select markets” on March 1. The maps do not currently show coverage in major markets such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Diego or Las Vegas.
Verizon Wireless has branded the service as “Vcast Mobile TV,” and references to the service are available in several locations on the carrier’s Web site.
Verizon Wireless has previously said that its Vcast Mobile TV service will have “an initial launch in many major U.S. markets” by the end of the first quarter, which ends March 31. The carrier is using Qualcomm Inc.’s MediaFLO mobile TV network for the service; AT&T Inc.’s Cingular Wireless L.L.C. also has announced that it will use MediaFLO for mobile TV, and will launch commercial services late this year.
No further details were offered, and the maps offered the caveat that mobile TV would be available only in “select markets” on March 1. The maps do not currently show coverage in major markets such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Diego or Las Vegas.
Verizon Wireless has branded the service as “Vcast Mobile TV,” and references to the service are available in several locations on the carrier’s Web site.
Verizon Wireless has previously said that its Vcast Mobile TV service will have “an initial launch in many major U.S. markets” by the end of the first quarter, which ends March 31. The carrier is using Qualcomm Inc.’s MediaFLO mobile TV network for the service; AT&T Inc.’s Cingular Wireless L.L.C. also has announced that it will use MediaFLO for mobile TV, and will launch commercial services late this year.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
DigiTAG
DigiTAG aims to encourage and facilitate the implementation and introduction of digital terrestrial television services using the standards developed by Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB). DigiTAG has over 50 members from broadcasting, network operators, regulatory, and manufacturing organisations throughout Europe and beyond.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Mobile operators complete TDtv mobile TV trial in UK
Mobile & Wireless | United Kingdom
Mobile operators complete TDtv mobile TV trial in UK
Published: Monday 12 February 2007 | 11:09 AM CET
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Mobile operators 3UK, Orange, Vodafone and Telefonica have announced the results of a successful joint technical trial of TDtv in Bristol, UK. TDtv is the UMTS TD-CDMA-3GPP Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Services (MBMS) standard for mobile TV services. They are now discussing next steps and examining how the results could be used to develop commercial services. The trial found that reliable delivery of mobile TV services using TDtv is technically viable; up to 11-14 high-quality channels can be delivered in 5MHz of TDD spectrum; coverage is comparable to WCDMA but will fewer cell sites; performance was consistent when moving at speed; and that a dual-mode handset is viable. The trial was announced in October 2006 and covered a large area of Bristol using just 12 macro-cell sites. IPWireless provided the TDtv base stations, and mobile and broadband TV services company MobiTV provided the client application.
Mobile operators complete TDtv mobile TV trial in UK
Published: Monday 12 February 2007 | 11:09 AM CET
Print | Comment | Mail
Mobile operators 3UK, Orange, Vodafone and Telefonica have announced the results of a successful joint technical trial of TDtv in Bristol, UK. TDtv is the UMTS TD-CDMA-3GPP Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Services (MBMS) standard for mobile TV services. They are now discussing next steps and examining how the results could be used to develop commercial services. The trial found that reliable delivery of mobile TV services using TDtv is technically viable; up to 11-14 high-quality channels can be delivered in 5MHz of TDD spectrum; coverage is comparable to WCDMA but will fewer cell sites; performance was consistent when moving at speed; and that a dual-mode handset is viable. The trial was announced in October 2006 and covered a large area of Bristol using just 12 macro-cell sites. IPWireless provided the TDtv base stations, and mobile and broadband TV services company MobiTV provided the client application.
TBSkyB, Qualcomm complete second UK MediaFLO trial
Speaking to Total Telecom at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona on Monday, Qualcomm vice president of business development Omar Javaid said the latest trial showed that MediaFLO has significant advantages over rival mobile TV technology DVB-H.
He explained that the physical layer field performance of MediaFLO was measured to be 4.5 dB better than DVB-H. That could mean it is able to offer “twice the effective coverage per transmitter,” than DVB-H, which could reduce rollout costs by 50%, Javaid said. Or, the operator could “use that 4.5 dB advantage to offer twice the amount of service,” he added, such as making 40 channels available, rather than 20.
He explained that the physical layer field performance of MediaFLO was measured to be 4.5 dB better than DVB-H. That could mean it is able to offer “twice the effective coverage per transmitter,” than DVB-H, which could reduce rollout costs by 50%, Javaid said. Or, the operator could “use that 4.5 dB advantage to offer twice the amount of service,” he added, such as making 40 channels available, rather than 20.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Pricing, Quality and Reliability Issues Turn Off Users of Mobile TV and Video
Ex-users outnumber current users, survey of 22,000 reveals
With mobile TV just beginning to take off in the United States, service providers can learn from the experiences of mobile TV users in Europe. A survey of 22,000 European mobile service users commissioned by Tellabs revealed that former users of mobile TV and video now outnumber current users by more than 19%. The research, conducted by M:Metrics in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France and Spain, cited price, reliability and quality issues as the main reasons why users do not come back for more.
With mobile TV just beginning to take off in the United States, service providers can learn from the experiences of mobile TV users in Europe. A survey of 22,000 European mobile service users commissioned by Tellabs revealed that former users of mobile TV and video now outnumber current users by more than 19%. The research, conducted by M:Metrics in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France and Spain, cited price, reliability and quality issues as the main reasons why users do not come back for more.
AT&T Selects QUALCOMM's MediaFLO USA for Mobile Entertainment Services: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
Feb. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MediaFLO USA Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM - News), and Cingular, the new wireless unit of AT&T (NYSE: T - News), today announced they signed a definitive agreement to deliver mobile entertainment and information services to the wireless unit's subscribers. The two companies expect to make the service available to customers in late 2007.
Telefónica Trials Mobile TV with Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent and Telefónica have announced that they are conducting a pilot project for Mobile TV in Spain. The trial started in early October 2006 and is scheduled to run for 6 months.
According to Alcatel-Lucent, using its Mobile Interactive TV solution, Telefónica will be able to create interactive television services, allowing mobile end-users to watch TV channels, consult an electronic program guide (EPG) in a preferred format, rapidly change channels or content, and use contextual interactive services, such as ordering content associated with a TV program.
According to Alcatel-Lucent, using its Mobile Interactive TV solution, Telefónica will be able to create interactive television services, allowing mobile end-users to watch TV channels, consult an electronic program guide (EPG) in a preferred format, rapidly change channels or content, and use contextual interactive services, such as ordering content associated with a TV program.
Qualcomm, Huawei to unveil MBMS mobile TV technology
Qualcomm, together with Huawei, will jointly demonstrate Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) mobile TV technology at 3GSM World Congress 2007 in Barcelona.
The collaborative demonstration follows the completion of interoperability testing, enabling commercialisation of a technology that delivers TV to mobile handsets over existing UMTS networks.
The demonstrations of MBMS will feature a handset based on Qualcomm's Mobile Station Modem (MSM) MSM7200 chipset receiving TV programmes at 256Kbps from Huawei's UMTS/HSPA network.
The MSM7200 chipset, which is expected to be commercially available in handsets and smartphones starting from the second quarter of 2007, supports 7.2Mbps HSDPA and up to 5.76Mbps HSUPA.
The collaborative demonstration follows the completion of interoperability testing, enabling commercialisation of a technology that delivers TV to mobile handsets over existing UMTS networks.
The demonstrations of MBMS will feature a handset based on Qualcomm's Mobile Station Modem (MSM) MSM7200 chipset receiving TV programmes at 256Kbps from Huawei's UMTS/HSPA network.
The MSM7200 chipset, which is expected to be commercially available in handsets and smartphones starting from the second quarter of 2007, supports 7.2Mbps HSDPA and up to 5.76Mbps HSUPA.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Mobile TV is key topic at 3GSM
Mobile TV is set to be the most important topic under the spotlight at the 3GSM World Congress, scheduled to open in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday (Feb. 12), according to an EE Times Europe poll.
The poll conducted over the weeks before the congress found that 38 percent of those who voted said that mobile TV would have the most impact at the event, while 31 percent said fourth generation communications would lead the way. Some 30 percent said that Apple's iPhone, launched a few weeks ago, would have the most impact in Barcelona.
The vote is a "straw poll" with a self-selecting audience, but to judge by the number of mobile television announcements made by companies this week, the voters have their finger on the pulse.
Friday, February 09, 2007
TelecomView Study Finds a Combination of Technologies Required to Make Mobile TV Services Profitable
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, February 5, 2007– Mobile TV is emerging as the next important mobile application. Nearly all of the 3G mobile networks globally offer Mobile TV services which provide the ability to view video entertainment on mobile devices. TelecomView’s new report Investing in Mobile TV how to avoid the pitfalls when building a successful Mobile TV service.
“We forecast that the number of Mobile TV subscribers will grow from 17 million in 2006 to 187 million subscribers in 2011,” stated Ian Cox, Principal Analyst at TelecomView and coauthor of the report. “This is still the startup phase for Mobile TV services. Mobile carriers will have to create the right balance between personalized and popular content, using the appropriate network technology, to be successful in the long run.”
In addition to the global and regional forecasts the report includes a business case analysis for Mobile TV that are used to define strategies for mobile operators, the new emerging Mobile TV broadcast network operators, satellite network operators, and content providers. It includes a discussion of regulatory issues, technologies, and network operator, and content provider strategies.
“Mobile TV network operators have a confusing set of technical choices to make,” stated Bob Larribeau, Principal Analyst at TelecomView and coauthor of the report. “The choices that the operator makes between 3G and WiMAX, unicast, and multicast, perhaps adding femtocells to the mix, along with broadcast and satellite, can make or break a Mobile TV service.”
This 130 page report addresses these issues and provides the information and analysis that mobile operators, Mobile TV broadcast operators, satellite operators, and system suppliers need to be successful in this market.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Virgin’s initial Mobile TV venture falls flat - Onecompare.com UK
Despite being a unique feature at launch Virgin Mobile’s DAB TV has so far flopped, and high cost ad campaigns featuring Pamela Anderson have yet to stimulate sales.
Mobile TV outlook remains dim
Call it pessimism or just a healthy respect for reality. Either way, the immediate outlook remains dim for solving the tangled web of problems tripping up broadcast mobile TV.
Debates about mobile TV at last December's Telecom World 2006 in Hong Kong showed one thing clear—that the state of broadcast mobile TV remains largely unchanged.
And that state can be said to be chaotic. Frequency conflicts, competing standards, technical glitches, security issues, licensing uncertainty and experimental business models mean the "convergence" the industry talks about is not the type that will make it money anytime soon.
More diplomatically, the UMTS Forum recently acknowledged that there is "considerable confusion" in the market. In a white paper released in November, the forum clearly described all the problems, but was stumped on concrete ways to bring about rapid "harmonization" in global frequency allocation, as well as standards to spur the economies of scale that would make broadcast mobile TV workable—that is to say, cheap and profitable—anytime in the near future.
Debates about mobile TV at last December's Telecom World 2006 in Hong Kong showed one thing clear—that the state of broadcast mobile TV remains largely unchanged.
And that state can be said to be chaotic. Frequency conflicts, competing standards, technical glitches, security issues, licensing uncertainty and experimental business models mean the "convergence" the industry talks about is not the type that will make it money anytime soon.
More diplomatically, the UMTS Forum recently acknowledged that there is "considerable confusion" in the market. In a white paper released in November, the forum clearly described all the problems, but was stumped on concrete ways to bring about rapid "harmonization" in global frequency allocation, as well as standards to spur the economies of scale that would make broadcast mobile TV workable—that is to say, cheap and profitable—anytime in the near future.
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