MobileTV-View

Media sector analyst briefing - 19th September 2007 | Ofcom

2007-09-19T11:01:00.000Z

Media sector analyst briefing - 19th September 2007 | Ofcom

BT ditches mobile TV service -

2007-07-27T11:13:00.000Z

"BT can confirm that following a review of its wholesale solutions, the decision has been made not to continue with the Movio service," a statement from the company said on Thursday. "BT is discussing the timescale for the closure of the service with Virgin Mobile. While the feedback from users on the service has been complimentary, Movio sales have been slower than originally expected mainly due to a lack of compatible devices from the big brands. This in turn has been caused by the fragmented nature of the mobile TV market and hesitancy on the part of the main network operators as they seek to fill their own largely under-utilised 3G networks."

Crown Castle bails from mobile TV effort, Modeo’s fate unclear :: RCR Wireless News

2007-07-25T04:41:00.000Z

Europe goes one way-the US another, all over again?

EU backs standard for mobile TV

2007-07-18T12:56:00.000Z

Telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding has called on member states to roll out services using the DVB-H standard "as quickly as possible".

Some key players have questioned why Brussels rather than the market is deciding what the standard should be.

The Flo Forum says:

Regarding FLO technology, “recent independent trials of FLO technology in the

involving several EU-based FLO Forum members highlighted significant technical advantages, which lead to savings on infrastructure spending. FLO offers twice the capacity of DVB-H, or alternatively the same capacity, but with a network build out with significantly reduced cost. This can translate into millions of euros difference in capital and operating expenditures for a network.“

"Technology selection is not an appropriate regulatory tool in innovative and dynamic markets such as mobile TV, especially where the market remains undecided and where the technology continues to evolve rapidly."

ROK is Rolling

2007-07-17T13:45:00.000Z

Rok is about to take the mobile TV market by storm.It has built up a technical capability with 43 patents applied for to be able to provide reasonable quality TV services to a mobile handset (some at 24 fps) using GPRS, EDGE, Wi-Fi and upcoming mobile technologies. Its mobile client supports Symbian, Java and Windows 5 with streamed video content which it also aggregates and supplies to mobile operators.

It has three routes to market:

Complete turnkey white label service to operators. Currently it has 30 licensees each which could acquire 150, 000 subscribers in the first 12 months of service. It expects another 30 by the end of 2008 giving it a potential market of 4.5 million in 2007, 10 million in 2008 and 20 million in 2009. Typical monthly subscriptions run at $8 giving a gross revenue of $80 million per month in 2008.
It has a new partnership with Nokia which will embed the E-series smart phone with its TV software. This is aimed at the business market and will bundle business content with a monthly subscription payable to Rok. It expects some 9 million subscribers over 3 years paying a few dollars a month for content.
A free service which will be funded by advertising which will be announced shortly. This will have different content to distinguish it from the other services.

The company is looking at other services including video conferencing, VoIP and SIP services for the future, all targeting 3 billion 2G customers.

Orange France adds seven channels

2007-04-18T06:26:00.000Z

The French mobile operator Orange has added seven new live TV channels to its TV on mobile service, Orange World, bringing the total number to 60 channels.

The new additions to the service, which also features 3,000 videoclips, are the sports channels Eurosport and Eurosport 2, TMC, NT1 Remix, a mobile version of the NT1 channel, Jet (the first TV channel totally dedicated to TV games), Olympique de Marseille football team’s OMTV and children’s channel Gulli.

At the end of 2006 the operator had over 2 million subscribers to its mobile TV service.

New broadcast coalition could threaten entrenched mobile TV players :: RCR Wireless News

2007-04-17T06:09:00.000Z

Rather than ceding control of the mobile TV market to the nation’s wireless carriers, nine U.S. television broadcast groups have formed an industry alliance called the Open Mobile Video Coalition to speed the development of a mobile variant for digital broadcast TV.

The broadcasters, which combined own 281 television stations in 110 U.S. markets, made the announcement from Las Vegas in conjunction with the National Association of Broadcasters 2007 show, which starts there today.

The coalition’s aim is to realize the “full potential” of digital broadcast television spectrum in the United States. The spectrum is currently used for stationary TVs, and the current technology does not lend itself to mobile applications. The coalition hopes to rally support around one of the recently announced technologies that will allow local digital TV broadcasters to beam their offerings to portable devices like cellphones.

Does anyone care about high definition?

2007-04-17T05:50:00.000Z

While annual cinema admissions in the UK grew steadily from 1984 until 2002, these figures have stagnated at around 167 million admissions per year over the last few years, according to the UK Film Council.

By contrast, the number of low picture quality videos watched on the internet has exploded over the last two years thanks to websites such as YouTube. Although precise figures are not available, on average an estimated 100 million videos are streamed off the site and more than 65,000 new videos are added every day.

Live Mobile TV Good But Not Great

2007-04-04T13:08:00.000Z

Third Screen: Live Mobile TV Good But Not Great

A mixed review for MediaFLO from Verizon.

Japanese study shows encouraging signs for mobile TV

2007-04-02T08:02:00.000Z

A survey based on more than 3,000 Japanese consumers howed that while only 41% of respondents said that they intended to use mobile broadcast services, the number doubled to 83% among focus group testers who were able to try out the service.

MPEG-4

2007-03-30T07:12:00.000Z

Coding Technologies, a provider of audio compression technology for digital broadcasting, mobile music and the Internet, has announced that Motorola has entered into a patent license agreement with the company. Coding
Technologies is the developer of the MPEG-4 aacPlus audio codec.
Motorola joins a number of the world's wireless device
manufacturers, including Nokia, SonyEricsson and LG as a licensee of aacPlus.

Spanish Mobile TV

2007-03-30T07:00:00.000Z

In an attempt to speed up the launch of DVB-H mobile TV, the Ministry of Industry has opened public consultations with all key players involved in the market up to next April 26 aimed at laying the groundwork for the launch of the service by year end.

BBC launches mobile TV trial

2007-03-30T06:30:00.000Z

The BBC has revealed plans to offer a range of TV and radio networks to 3G mobile phones. The trial, scheduled to run for up to 12 months, will run on the Orange, Vodafone and 3 mobile networks. Significantly O2, which has been involved in a series of DVB-H mobile TV trials, is not included in the trial.

Channels featured will be BBC One, BBC News 24 and BBC Three, though some sports content will not be included. Eight radio stations will also be included: Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 4, 6 Music, BBC 7 and Asian Network. Missing is the BBC’s news and sports station Radio 5 Live. The trial will get underway within a month.

Channels including Sky News and Sky Sports News are already streamed live on UK 3G networks. (JC)

WIMAX HDTV MOBILE TV JRC and Runcom Completed the Development of Mobile WiMAX Base Station - Assodigitale - Associazione Italiana Operatori Industria

2007-03-28T07:37:00.000Z

"Running a High Definition TV application over a Mobile WiMAX Network enabled us to demonstrate the fantastic potential of Mobile WiMAX as a Broadband Access Technology" said Israel Koffman, Runcom's VP of Marketing; "The collaboration with a leading company in radio technology such as JRC enabled the team to bring OFDMA technology to perform one of its highest records."

Alvarion Partners with NDS and MobiTV to Demo Mobile Wimax TV

2007-03-28T07:34:00.000Z

"Our companies are cooperating in order to demonstrate mobile TV over WiMAX anytime, anywhere and on any device," said Joseph Deutsch, VP Product Marketing, NDS. "Alvarion's 4Motion solution, together with our core VideoGuard CA and DRM solution, supports the full range of video services, giving carriers the assurance that only paying subscribers gain access to content while offering various business models to consumers and increasing average revenues per user (ARPU)."

Spectrum Key To The Development Of Mobile TV In Europe

2007-03-26T15:49:00.000Z

Europe : Mobile network operators in Europe called for more spectrum to be made available for the provision of mobile television, echoing one of the findings in the final report of the European Mobile Broadcasting Council (EMBC), an initiative of the European Commission. While the EMBC report highlights the great variety of technical solutions to the provision of mobile broadcast services, such as 3G network-based video streaming, MBMS and DVB-H, DMB and satellite broadcast solutions, it notes that a lack of spectrum could limit the development of some of the new mobile TV platforms available.

Mobile TV warned to standardise

2007-03-17T08:05:00.000Z

EC telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding said that if the industry did not agree on one, she would do it for them.

Ms Reding warned that Europe risked losing a chance to be a global player in the burgeoning mobile TV market.

She made her comments during a speech to delegates at the Cebit technology fair in Hanover, Germany.

Large-scale trials of TV on mobile handsets are already happening across the world as phone firms try to find out if consumers want to watch programmes on the go.

This comes as a surprise to no one!

"Audiovisual without Frontiers" Directive

2007-03-12T11:08:00.000Z

The Commission unveiled on 9 March a consolidated text of the modernised "Television without Frontiers" Directive. After a first reading in the European Parliament and the Council, there is now broad agreement with the Commission about the future legal framework for Europe's audiovisual sector. The new rules, which have been called for especially by the European Parliament, are a response to technological developments and create a new level-playing field in Europe for emerging audiovisual media services (video on demand, mobile TV, audiovisual services on digital TV). European TV- and filmmakers will be given more flexibility to produce digital content which they can then make freely available to consumers thanks to advertising. The new Directive reaffirms the pillars of Europe's audiovisual model, which are cultural diversity, protection of minors, consumer protection, media pluralism, and the fight against racial and religious hatred,. The Commission also proposes to ensure the independence of national media regulators. The consolidated text of the new Directive will now go into a second reading by the European Parliament and Council.

No hurry on mobile TV, says Telstra (, MARCH 07, 2007)

2007-03-07T08:10:00.000Z

TELSTRA says it is no hurry to jump on the mobile television bandwagon just yet, as it adopts a wait-and-see stance to the new broadcasting technology.

The standard known as digital video broadcasting handheld (DVB-H) has been tested in a number of markets around the world - including Australia - with commercial services recently launched in Albania, Italy and Vietnam.

Dump the TV set, watch the web instead - tech - 03 March 2007 - New Scientist Tech

2007-03-02T08:19:00.000Z

WATCHING programmes on your television set is so last century.

Television studios are increasingly using the net to transmit their programmes to viewers on demand.

While this is fine when a relatively small number of people are downloading files at different times, if the internet were to transmit live television broadcasts to millions of viewers simultaneously, the sudden demand for bandwidth could create a huge bottleneck.

Now a British company has developed a way to send live video to millions of computers at once without overloading the web. The system, called the Live Delivery Network, will be launched next month by London-based firm Skinkers. It uses Pastry, a peer-to-peer distribution tool developed by Microsoft to transmit the broadcasts. This means every user who receives the broadcast also passes parts of the file on to other users. In this way live video feeds, which eat up bandwidth, can be distributed to millions of users without putting impossible demands on a central server.

MobiTV passes two million subs

2007-02-28T10:05:00.000Z

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.”

Verizon Wireless to launch Vcast Mobile TV March 1

2007-02-28T08:59:00.000Z

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.

DigiTAG

2007-02-20T13:38:00.000Z

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.

Mobile operators complete TDtv mobile TV trial in UK

2007-02-13T11:07:00.000Z

Mobile & Wireless | United Kingdom
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

2007-02-13T07:59:00.000Z

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.

Pricing, Quality and Reliability Issues Turn Off Users of Mobile TV and Video

2007-02-12T17:33:00.000Z

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.

AT&T Selects QUALCOMM's MediaFLO USA for Mobile Entertainment Services: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

2007-02-12T14:29:00.000Z

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

2007-02-12T07:45:00.000Z

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.

Qualcomm, Huawei to unveil MBMS mobile TV technology

2007-02-12T07:43:00.000Z

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.

Mobile TV is key topic at 3GSM

2007-02-10T13:23:00.000Z

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.

TelecomView Study Finds a Combination of Technologies Required to Make Mobile TV Services Profitable

2007-02-09T15:05:00.000Z

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.

This report is available from TelecomView for $3,495. For more information about it contact TelecomView at +1 415 241 9920 or +44 1626 834 224. More information is available at http://www.telecomview.info or info@telecomview.info.

Virgin’s initial Mobile TV venture falls flat - Onecompare.com UK

2007-02-01T06:50:00.000Z

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

2007-02-01T06:48:00.000Z

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.

Huawei MBMS mobile TV technology

2007-01-25T08:10:00.000Z

Huawei MBMS mobile TV technology

Huawei Technologies says it has successfully completed the industry's first commercial MBMS (Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service) mobile TV interoperability testing (IOT), a mobile TV solution based on 3GPP Release 6.

The IOT was performed on Huawei's UMTS/HSPA network with handsets. During the IOT, MBMS technology was used to transmit TV programs at 256 Kbps, which played clearly and smoothly. Users were able to quickly switch channels by pressing navigation buttons on the handset, and MBMS allowed streaming to be suspended during an incoming voice call and automatically resumed streaming when the call ended. The successful IOT demonstrates that MBMS is tentatively on-track for large-scale commercial deployments in 2007.

The IOT was performed on Huawei's UMTS/HSPA network with handsets. During the IOT, MBMS technology was used to transmit TV programs at 256 Kbps, which played clearly and smoothly. Users were able to quickly switch channels by pressing navigation buttons on the handset, and MBMS allowed streaming to be suspended during an incoming voice call and automatically resumed streaming when the call ended. The successful IOT demonstrates that MBMS is tentatively on-track for large-scale commercial deployments in 2007.
"

Samsung, More Mobile TV Standards

2007-01-08T08:00:00.000Z

As if there weren’t enough mobile TV standards waiting in the wings, Samsung is planning to announce another mobile TV broadcast technology at CES called Advanced-Vestigial Side-Band, that will use digital signals from local TV broadcasters. The Wall Street Journal has some details, and Samsung PR tells us it will offer more info at the Samsung press conference on Sunday at CES:

Verizon To Announce Mobile TV Launch - Access to favorite shows should be coming to Verizon phones soon

2007-01-08T07:59:00.000Z

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this weekend, Verizon Wireless is expected to “announce the much-anticipated launch of its mobile television service”, reports Telecommunications Industry News. The company has teamed up with QuallComm in the use of the latter’s MediaFLO technology which offers rapid streaming video quality to Verizon phone users. “The service, which should be in operation by the end of March, will consist of eight channels and will include popular shows from NBC, CBS, Fox and MTV,” according To a Reuters Yahoo! News report.

Korea expects 21 million mobile TV users by 2012

2006-12-12T07:43:00.000Z

South Korea will have 21 million users of mobile TV by 2012, based mostly on free-to-air terrestrial DMB, followed by a slowly growing base of satellite DMB users.

"That's the government's estimate, but we think this is a very conservative estimate now," said Young-kil Suh, chief executive of TU Media Corp., the sole provider of satellite DMB services in South Korea.

There are 2.5 million users of mobile TV in South Korea today. TU started its service in May 2005, and will have one million users by the end of this month. It expects to hit 2.2 million users by the end of 2007, at which point it expects to break even, Suh said. TU believes it can hit 6.6 million users by 2010 and generate $1.1 billion in revenue. That breaks down to about $14 per month in average revenue per user.

Modeo's CEO quits as mobile TV struggles in U.S.

2006-12-12T07:41:00.000Z

Verizon Wireless, whose CDMA-based cellular business has been tightly integrated with Qualcomm Inc.'s technology, announced earlier this year its adoption of Qualcomm's proprietary MediaFlo, a mobile-TV spec that competes directly with the DVB-Handheld standard embraced by Modeo. Other U.S. wireless carriers are said to be leaning toward MediaFlo or to have remained noncommittal.

While the management change at Modeo suggests larger structural problems in the U.S. mobile TV market, a source close to Modeo said it was too early to write DVB-H's "obituary." The source said the Modeo move had stemmed from a management failure and not any technological failing on the part of DVB-H.

Several countries have rolled out commercial mobile-TV services using DVB-H since the summer. "DVB-H is a field-tested, field-proven, well-validated technology," the source added.

ATV's News Archive December 11th - December 15th

2006-12-11T19:13:00.000Z

BSkyB could launch a direct to mobile service based on Qualcomm’s MediaFLO technology. Such a move could ‘cut out’ the MNOs with wholesale capacity merely rented for the voice and text elements of the service.

Sky has conducted MediaFLO tests in Cambridge and is planning more in Manchester, and some reports say it is beginning to favour the technology over DVB-H. With control of so much content – including Premier League rights – any such move could leapfrog mobile operator attempts to launch TV services either in 3G or DVB-H.

Sky already has a fully-fledged mobile TV service in operation with three companies - 3, Orange and Vodafone - with a range of channels starting at £5 (E7) a month.

Telefonica admits customers don't understand mobile TV | The Register

2006-12-11T07:59:00.000Z

Customers have, in general, been pretty ambivalent about watching TV on the move. The iPod remains a music-centric device despite the support for, and availability of, video content. Orange reported average viewing times are around two and a half minutes a day for their video service, and other research would seem to back up the idea that even where viewers do want mobile TV they want it in short, sharp, bites, and aren't perpared to pay a lot for it. ®

Motorola Continues to Collaborate with PCCW on Mobile TV Technology » Telecommunications Industry News

2006-12-08T08:06:00.000Z

The world’s second largest cell phone manufacturer, Motorola Inc., has is reporting progress in an ongoing collaboration with Hong Kong telecom provider, PCCW Ltd., in which it hopes to research consumer opinions and preferences in relation to mobile television services.

“We happen to be working with PCCW … to really understand what the customer wants. We want to make sure we understand the local market and what the consumer wants out of (mobile TV),” commented Simon Leung, an executive with Motorola’s Asia Pacific Networks division at the ITU Telecom World 2006 conference.

The mutual research deal between PCCW and Motorola was first announced in September, and is expected to continue until sometime in March. It allows Motorola to test the carrier’s mobile TV system in the Quarry Bay district of Hong Kong to facilitate trials of the DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld) standard for mobile broadcasting.

The agreement will also make it possible for PCCW to test the technical capabilities and performance of Motorola’s technology, in preparation for a possible partnership between the two companies in years to come.

Pan Asian Mobile TV

2006-12-07T17:27:00.000Z

SK Telecom, Toshiba , Glocal Media, and International Mobile Broadcasting have formed the Pan Asian Mobile TV consortium to enable digital multimedia broadcasting for mobile operators in the region. Trials are set to begin in early 2007 with leading mobile operators in Asia.

"The vision will bring a new era of Broadcasting in the Asia region. People can enjoy informative, educational and entertaining live contents from all over the world anytime and anywhere with cell phone most cost effectively by adopting S-DMB system that was commercially proven in Japan and Korea," commented Masashi Suenaga of Toshiba.

Alcatel demonstrates Europe’s first live Mobile TV in S-band

2006-11-28T19:16:00.000Z

Alcatel has announced the successful demonstration of Europe's first broadcast of live TV channels on mobile handsets in S-band. The demonstration took place in Alcatel's UK premises. It is using the new DVB-SH standard (Satellite services for Handhelds), which is currently being drafted by the DVB Project. To perform this demonstration, Alcatel was assisted by UK broadcasters Sky, ITV and BBC.

Representatives from European mobile operators, TV broadcasters, industry analyst firms and regulatory bodies were able to see content received on SAGEM myMobileTV handsets. These terminals are using the S-band telecom frequency between 2.17GHz and 2.20GHz, which is adjacent to the 3G/UMTS band. 30MHz of spectrum is currently available all across Europe and in other major regions in the world.

DVB-SH is a new technology targeting the S-band. DVB-SH is a related standard to DVB-H. With DVB-SH technology, Mobile TV signals can be broadcast from satellites as well as from terrestrial transmitters directly to handhelds. DVB-SH handhelds can be designed in such a way that they become compatible with DVB-H so that both standards can be received in one end-user terminal.

In addition, Alcatel demonstrated two possible key technical features using the DVB-SH standard. Reception Antenna Diversity, a feature using two antennas inside the same mobile device, enables improvements in the signal quality under difficult conditions. Furthermore, improved Time Interleaving overcomes fading impairment in mobility conditions. The significant quality enhancement was demonstrated by implementing these DVB-SH features.

Ulrich Reimers, Chairman of the Technical Module of DVB Project, said that DVB-SH was "a perfect complement to other standards, such as DVB-H, which is typically using UHF frequencies but is capable of using the L-band. Thus DVB-SH may have a significant impact on the global Mobile TV industry."

Olivier Coste, President of Alcatel's mobile broadcast activities concluded: "Quality of Service is essential for operators to attract and retain Mobile TV users. Today, we demonstrated that high quality live Mobile TV using the S-band works. This can be up and running commercially very soon. With the additional benefits of universal indoor and countrywide coverage, the fundamentals of our solution are already solid enough to enable operators to profit from sustainable Mobile TV market growth thanks to the S-band."

DiBcom, leader behind Mobile TV expands to new emerging market

2006-11-20T13:56:00.000Z

Paris, 20 November, 2006 – DiBcom, the leading semiconductor company designing high performance Mobile TV chipsets, has decided to invest in India by opening a software development centre in Bangalore.

This new research and development facility represents an extension of DiBcom’s R&D team based at its headquarters in France and will complement all software development currently in progress. Expanding to India reflects DiBcom’s commitment towards its strategic partnerships with international hardware and software vendors.

The site in Bangalore strengthens DiBcom’s ability to meet the specific needs of its clients, enhancing customer support in the development and product integration of associated platforms. DiBcom’s investment in India not only allows the company to remain competitive and better serve the demands of ODM’s (original design manufacturer), but also establishes a strong foothold in this new and dynamic DVB-H Indian market.

“To stay competitive in all DVB-T and DVB-H markets, DiBcom has decided to expand its skilled workforce to India, thus facilitating the porting of DiBcom chipsets to diverse hardware platforms running a wide range of operating systems and application platforms,” said Khaled Maalej, Chief Technology Officer of DiBcom.

With the arrival of the new DIB7070 technology that combines a tri-band RF tuner with a highly integrated DVB-T and DVB-H demodulator, DiBcom will provide increasingly sophisticated software stacks to adapt both DVB-T and now DVB-H receivers into different platforms, including:

- Residential and automotive set top boxes,

- Desktop and laptop PCs,

- Personal media players and LCD TVs,

- Mobile phone and Smartphone accessories

Mobile operator to launch next phase of Oxford trial in February or March 2007.

2006-11-16T08:07:00.000Z

O2 said on Wednesday that the next phase of its U.K. mobile TV trial would focus on interactivity and possible advertising models as the mobile operator investigates the potential of using its 3G network to complement a broadcast mobile TV solution.

The move could be seen as something of an about-turn by an operator that has always stressed it sees DVB-H broadcast technology as the only real solution for mobile TV, and has largely dismissed 3G as unsuitable for streaming video services.

Combining broadcast and 3G networks has been cited by other companies in the industry as the best strategy for the provision of mobile TV as it would provide operators with more flexibility for service differentiation, and enable more interactivity such as TV voting.

But Peter Erskine, CEO of Telefonica O2 Europe, told Total Telecom at an O2 media day in London on Wednesday that the company is still fully committed to its original strategy of offering DVB-H services, and commented that he thinks 3G is "only really good enough for video clips".

However, Erskine conceded that there are still considerable "frustrations" in the U.K. over spectrum, with the required UHF spectrum only set to be available following the switchover to digital television.

"If we don't get [the required spectrum] it's not going to be viable," Erskine told journalists and analysts during his presentation on Wednesday.

He added that even if the spectrum were made available there would probably only be room for one or maybe two networks in the U.K. providing broadcast services based on DVB-H broadcast technology.

O2, which recently reported healthy financials for the third quarter of this year, said the next phase of its Oxford, England-based mobile TV trial will start in around February or March next year and will deploy 3G mobile technology alongside DVB-H to test two-way interactivity and advertising models.

A spokesman for the operator said it's likely that the same partners will be used for handsets and network, although no agreements have been reached as yet. Both Nokia and broadcast infrastructure company Arqiva worked with O2 in the DVB-H-only trial that ended earlier this year.

As for other mobile broadcast technologies, Dave Williams, chief technology officer of Telefonica O2 Europe, said the operator is "watching" developments of T-DMB and MediaFLo, but has no plans to implement these technologies at present. He added that the company sees no business case for Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), the technology being used by BT Movio for its mobile TV service.

Williams also commented that O2 is not planning to make use of its TDD spectrum, which like most Western European operators O2 obtained when it acquired its UMTS licences, although he said the operator "would like to" make use of this spectrum.

When asked if O2 would consider using solutions developed by companies such as IPWireless for deployment in TDD unpaired spectrum bands, Erskine more or less dismissed this as an option, saying such services were "a bit of a lame duck, it seems to me".

IPWireless has developed a solution for mobile broadband services as well as a mobile TV service called TDtv for deployment in the TDD band.

Meanwhile mobile TV is just one of several services being developed by O2, which recently launched DSL services in Germany and is planning to do the same in the U.K. via its newly acquired ISP Be.

Erskine said Be now has 30% population coverage in the U.K., and is aiming to increase this to 60-70% in the coming year. However, Erskine stressed that O2 is in no rush to jump on the broadband bandwagon and would only roll out its own DSL offering once it felt that the customer experience would be a good one.

Matthew Key, CEO of O2 UK, commented that customers in the U.K. "are rebelling against free" because of recent experiences with new so-called free offerings from the likes of Carphone Warehouse and Orange.

"So that's not where we're going," said Key. "We are watching and learning now."

But Erskine stressed: "We are getting into fixed broadband. We see a lot of opportunities there."

According to Williams, O2's future focus will be on the launch of HSDPA and eventually HSUPA; the implementation of smaller GSM and eventually 3G base stations in homes to help improve indoor coverage and network coverage in general; and IMS. The operator also plans to investigate UMTS 900 technology, which it is currently trialling in the Isle of Man, and UMA technology for fixed-mobile convergence.

However, Williams said the company has no plans for any major investment in WiMAX as it believes HSDPA and the future evolution of 3G technology will more than meet its requirements for wide area mobile broadband services.

O2 will also adopt different approaches in its markets since each market has different requirements. For example, so-called homezone services launched under the Genion brand have been hugely successful in Germany, but such services, where a user is able to make cheap mobile calls at home, are not really available in the U.K.

Key commented that it's difficult to achieve the same level of success with this service in the U.K. "because the amount of differential you can drive in the U.K. is not the same".

Qatar Telecom unveils its new DVB H service

2006-11-16T07:42:00.000Z

Qatar Telecom (Qtel) unveiled its new DVB H (Digital Video Broadcast - Handheld) service on Monday, through which 13 television channels can be viewed on a specially-enabled mobile phone handset.

Qtel has 1380 of the handsets, manufactured specifically for the Doha Asian games Organising Committee (DAGOC) for a trial during the forthcoming Asian games, which open in Doha next month. The service will be provided free during the games and will be marketed in the country early next year.

Dr Nasser Marafih, CEO of Qtel, told Khaleej Times that Qatar is one of the few countries in the world to offer the service, which is three times better quality than normal TV-over-GSM and also offers stereo sound. Nokia is developing the N92, which is also enabled to receive DVB-H, however its technical staff are currently working with Qtel to make it compatible with the Qtel system. If they succeed, then Nokia92 owners will also have free access to the service during the games, he said.

GROWTH IN THE NUMBER OF MOBILE TV USERS IN THE ASIA PACIFIC REGION - Assodigitale - Associazione Italiana Operatori Industria e Media Digitali

2006-11-15T12:20:00.000Z

There should be about 5 million Mobile TV viewers in the region by the end of 2006. To these figures must be added those users who instead consume or will consume video services on 3G mobile telephone networks.

Currently, mobile TV services in the Asia Pacific region have been launched in South Korea (in May 2005 and December 2005) and in Japan (in October 2004 and April 2006).

Mobile TV phone services will be available in Vietnam by the end of 2006 and, starting early in 2007, in India. Mobile TV service trials are also currently being conducted in other countries in the region, including China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore. In the medium-long term, growth in the mobile TV market in the Asia Pacific region is closely tied to the development of Mobile TV services in China.

According to the e-Media Institute study, in 2010 there could be nearly 73 million Mobile TV users in the Asia Pacific region. However, should the Chinese market develop more rapidly, the dimensions of the Mobile TV market could even be greater in the medium-long term.

3UK, Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone Trial Mobile TV Powered by TDtv Technology

2006-11-14T08:32:00.000Z

October 11, 2006 - 3UK, Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone today announce the launch of a technical trial of TDtv, the UMTS TD-CDMA-3GPP Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Services (MBMS) standard-based solution. The trial is expected to provide valuable insights for mobile operators into the potential of using their existing spectrum and infrastructure to deliver mobile television and other multimedia services.

The TDtv trial, which is scheduled to run to the end of the year, will test key performance and deployment aspects of the mobile TV technology. TDtv base stations provided by IPWireless have been deployed on 12 cell sites covering parts of Bristol in the UK to provide broadcast services to TDtv enabled smart phones. MobiTV, Inc., the international mobile and broadband television services company, will provide the client application, as well as facilitate the mobile content and operational components of the trial.

Adult Response

2006-11-14T07:54:00.000Z

Respond Mobile has launched a dedicated pan-European mobile TV delivery platform specifically for adult content.
Rhythm TV will comprise some of the biggest names in adult TV alongside new made for mobile channels, the Candy Louge magazine programme and and an exotic dance station. Pan-European adult TV stations such as XXX TV and 100% Babes are part of the launch package.

The future of TV will be personal

2006-11-10T15:31:00.000Z

The report predicts that mobile TV programming will be a combination
of original content from broadcast television and new content made
specifically for mobile.

It is expected that the most popular genres and programmes on mobile
TV will be news, entertainment (soaps, reality shows, comedy,
animation), sport, music and children's programmes. Moreover, the
content will be tailored with the mobile viewer in mind:

* Much shorter and more concise news bulletins
* User interactivity in the plots of reality TV shows and game shows
* Growing importance of user-generated content
* New distribution formats: in China, for instance,
the movie Kung Fu Hustle was made into ten segments for mobile TV

Mobile TV's clouded picture

2006-11-09T14:57:00.000Z

The problem is it is shrouded in far too many unknowns: the standard, the business model, the handset, battery life, spectrum availability, backhaul cost and pricing.

Alcatel and ARCHOS team up for world’s first portable multimedia player adapted to broadcast mobile TV in the S-Band

2006-11-09T12:25:00.000Z

Within the framework of this agreement, ARCHOS will develop the world‘s first portable multimedia player adapted to Alcatel’s Unlimited Mobile TV solution, a hybrid terrestrial and satellite broadcast solution based on an evolution of the DVB-H standard in the S-Band (2.2 GHz). Commercial availability of ARCHOS S-Band compatible devices is expected in the fourth quarter of 2007.

The joint solution will adhere to the upcoming standard being prepared in the DVB Forum by the dedicated DVB-SSP (Satellite Services for Portable devices) Workgroup. Alcatel will provide support to ARCHOS in terms of interoperability testing and in terms of access to chipset manufacturers implementing DVB-SSP. Both companies will also promote and expand the related S-Band technology and standards as a leading solution for mobile video broadcast, and accelerate the time-to-market of the joint solution.

E-Plus exits German DVB-H consortium

2006-11-09T12:08:00.000Z

E-Plus will not participate in a German mobile TV consortium with the other German mobile operators, Vodafone Germany, T-Mobile Germany and O2 Germany. CEO Michael Krammer said that the operator is not against mobile TV as a service, but does not want to get tangled up in political or regulatory frameworks that are connected with such a consortium. E-Plus has also weighed the financial perspectives against the needed investment in DVB-H networks and decided to stop with the consortium. The mobile operator wants to focus on marketing and selling products and services instead of investing in unsure and untried new services.

Asia Pacific Mobile TV Subscribers

2006-11-09T08:00:00.000Z

ATV's News Archive November 6th - November10th

2006-11-06T19:34:00.000Z

"Broadcasters should not see new technologies such as mobile TV as a threat, and instead think of them as opportunities that come with switching to digital mode, the Technical Committee heard at the 43rd ABU General Assembly in Beijing.

John Bigeni, the DVB representative for Asia, said the common misconception was that mobile broadcasting services have been 'largely identified as the realm of telecommunications operators rather than broadcasters, simply because they are expected to be ideally received over the mobile phone'.

However, it was the broadcasters who held the valuable and scarce spectrum which enabled the launch of such services, and the telecommunications companies were actively trying to acquire this spectrum.

Bigeni said that technology such as DVB-H changed the threat of new technology to an opportunity for broadcasters because it enabled them to provide handheld services over their existing digital channels. 'This is done together with normal services, and can be made either free to air or pay service as this depends on the adopted business plan. But above all, these services are not just restricted to telco-type services,' he said."

ATV's News Archive November 6th - November10th

2006-11-06T19:33:00.000Z

The same Olswang survey revealed that, despite the launch of a range of mobile TV services in the last 12 months, consumers remain uninterested in using their mobile phones to view audio-visual content. 90 percent of respondents have not yet streamed or downloaded any full length content, clips or trailers to their mobile phones and, of these, over 70 per cent stated they have no future interest in this activity.

Mobile phone companies also face competition from usage of other portable devices, with 30 percent of consumers already using a portable DVD player, Sony PSP, iPod with video or other device to watch TV programmes or movies.

ATV's News Archive

2006-11-06T19:32:00.000Z

The Olswang Convergence Consumer Survey 2006 has revealed that rights holders and service providers are facing new challenges in the battle for consumer attention. In the digital age, consumers want choice and control but show an unwillingness to pay for content.

Consumers are demonstrating a clear preference for feature films and TV programmes over shorter clips and trailers as their content of choice for the PC. Nearly 40 per cent of UK consumers are already streaming or downloading audio-visual content onto computers at home. Whilst this may suggest a potentially lucrative market for rights holders and service providers, the downside is that consumers appear reluctant to pay to receive content on their home PC, with 1 in 2 not prepared to pay anything extra for streamed/downloaded content and a further 40 per cent not willing to pay more than £5 (E7.25) per month.

Virgin's Lobster

2006-11-06T14:32:00.000Z

The Lobster 700TV offers a seven day electronic programme guide (EPG) making it a snap to see what’s on now and next, an exclusive for mobile. The ‘red-button’ interactivity means you can find out more and interact with the programme you are watching. DAB digital radio is another huge first for mobile customers. Now you can enjoy the unique features of DAB such as quick and easy tuning, a choice of up to 50 digital radio stations straight to your handset, and crystal clear sound.

China says it will enforce homegrown mobile TV standard

2006-11-03T08:29:00.000Z

Broadcasters in China's emerging mobile TV industry have been ordered to use Chinese technology standards instead of competing foreign systems, a news report said.

China is trying to develop its own standards for mobile communications and other technology, hoping to reduce reliance on foreign know-how and give its own companies a competitive edge.

The national broadcast regulator, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television told mobile TV broadcasters this week they must use the STiMi standard developed by its own researchers, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

"The introduction of STiMi, which is China's independent intellectual property right, demonstrates that China has world-leading technology in the field, and will not have to submit to the standards of other countries," an unidentified researcher was quoted as saying.

DMB-PORTAL

2006-11-02T15:06:00.000Z

DMB-PORTAL

DVB-H : Global Mobile TV

2006-11-02T14:08:00.000Z

DVB-H, the specification for bringing broadcast services to battery-powered handheld receivers, was formally adopted as an ETSI standard in November 2004. This is the offcial DVB-H website maintained by the DVB Project Office.

YouTube hopes to be on mobile devices in 2007 | Technology | Internet | Reuters.co.uk

2006-11-02T12:16:00.000Z

YouTube Inc., the popular online video sharing site, said on Wednesday it hopes to launch a service for wireless devices within a year.

Chad Hurley, YouTube chief executive and co-founder, told an advertising conference that offering video services on mobile phones was a key opportunity for the company.

"Within the next year we hope to have something on a mobile device, it's going to be a huge market, especially for the video mind-set we're dealing with, it's a natural transition," said Hurley.

Hurley was speaking at the OgilvyOne Digital Summit in one of his first public engagements since the announcement last month that Internet search leader Google Inc. is to buy YouTube for $1.65 billion (865 million pounds).

In May, YouTube launched its YouTube To Go service to enable users to upload clips directly from their mobile phones to view on the Web site on their personal computers.

Already many of the clips seen on YouTube are captured by users with their cellphones. A new mobile service could enable users to share videos with others in the YouTube community directly via their phones.

London L-Band Trial : Mobile Media Solutions : Services & Products : Arqiva

2006-11-02T08:51:00.000Z

South Korea and the UK have today come together to announce technology advances and trial plans for mobile data broadcasting over DAB (digital audio broadcasting).

Partners from both countries have joined forces at a seminar in Westminster to announce details of the trial that will show how two enhancements of the DAB platform can be used to broadcast television and other multimedia applications to mobile devices using existing spectrum.

Arqiva supports BSkyB technical trial of MediaFLO mobile TV technology : 2006 - Press Releases : Press Releases : Press Office

2006-11-02T08:47:00.000Z

Arqiva supports BSkyB technical trial of MediaFLO mobile TV technology : 2006 - Press Releases : Press Releases : Press Office

Nokia - Mobile TV Forum - Resources

2006-11-02T08:36:00.000Z

Nokia - Mobile TV Forum - Resources

Mobile TV: the road to mass market

2006-11-01T08:49:00.000Z

Per Nordlöf, head of Ericsson's mobile TV strategy, believes a fragmented market is inevitable when it comes to broadcast technologies. "We can see Mediaflow in the US and DVB-H in Europe," he says. "However, MBMS can potentially function wherever you have 3G, so it will be the only true global standard."

Unlike other standards, which require a completely new mobile TV-broadcast network, MBMS can be built on to existing 3G networks. As Nordlöf says: "Operators can use the same business model and, as they own the spectrum, they – rather than telecom regulators or broadcasters – are in control."

BBC and Sky dominate mobile TV market | Internet Marketing News and Blog | E-consultancy.com

2006-11-01T08:45:00.000Z

The research, which tracked mobile content consumption at the channel, website and content title level, found the most popular services among mobile TV and video users were BBC1 (33%) and Sky Sports (29%).

The BBC also secured the top spot in the mobile internet space, with 28% of mobile web users visiting the site, while Sky Sports was again second with 23%.

Freescale Mobile TV Tuner Surpasses One Million Units Shipped

2006-11-01T08:06:00.000Z

The Freescale tuners are part of a front-end reference design providing DVB-H connectivity in a wide variety of consumer products. The DVB-H tuner uses 270 mW during bursts, representing half the power of traditional tuners with a much smaller bill of materials. Additionally, Freescale’s DVB-H tuner has enhanced sensitivity allowing consumers to receive quality service even in fringe areas of coverage, a critical requirement for DVB-H applications.

S-band Mobile TV Gains Ground

2006-11-01T08:04:00.000Z

The Alcatel mobile TV solution, using the S-band for terrestrial and satellite coverage, appears to be making solid progress in Europe. The French vendor has signed an agreement with Samsung to provide compliant terminals and satellite operator Eutelsat has confirmed its decision to have an S-band payload on the W2A satellite, which is scheduled to launch in early 2009.

Newport Media launches 'lowest-power' single-chip mobile TV receiver

2006-11-01T08:03:00.000Z

Initially focused on the DVB-H market, Newport Media’s Sundance Series family is also expected to support other air interface standards including terrestrial-digital multimedia broadcasting (T-DMB), integrated services digital broadcasting-terrestrial (ISDB-T) and MediaFLO.

Satellite operators team for mobile TV delivery on S-band

2006-10-30T14:02:00.000Z

Satellite communications operators Eutelsat Communications and SES Global are forming a joint venture to transmit video, radio and data to mobile devices and vehicle receivers in the S-band. Alcatel Alenia Espace has won the contract to make the W2A satellite that will be used for the service, which is scheduled to start operating in 2009.

China enters mobile-TV fray

2006-10-27T06:47:00.000Z

Chinese broadcast authorities this week announced they will launch their own technology standard for mobile TV. The Chinese standard is still in early stages of development.

First DVB-H Windows Mobile 5.0 AKU 3.0 TV Phone

2006-10-24T06:37:00.000Z

GIGABYTE Communications today unveils the GSmart i200, the first DVB-H Windows Mobile 5.0 AKU 3.0 VGA handheld device, at the 3GSM World Congress Asia 2006. In fact, a major highlight of the event is the preview of the new GSmart DVB-H digital mobile TV device, GSmart i200. To demonstrate this live DVB-H mobile broadcast solution, GIGABYTE Communications has invited Innoxius Technologies and Penthera to participate in this event.

Ideally, mobile TV requires four-inch or larger display, says Nokia

2006-10-24T06:36:00.000Z

A VGA or WVGA display sized larger than four inches will be ideal for mobile TV handsets, according to Nokia vice president Antti Laaperi, who made the remarks at FPD International 2006, which concluded in Yokohama, Japan on October 20.

Additionally, global sales of handsets featuring a TFT LCD- or AMOLED (active matrix organic light emitting diode)-based main display are expected to reach 700 million units in 2007, up from about the 400 million units projected for 2006, Laaperi stated.

By 2010, handsets featuring either a TFT LCD (one billion units) or an AMOLED (200 million units) main screen are likely to top 1.2 billion units while global handset sales are expected to reach 1.4 billion units, Laaperi said.

Mobile Digital TV Alliance Applauds Publication of TIA-1105, Making DVB-H a Formal Standard for US Market

2006-10-23T07:15:00.000Z

The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) has adopted the first official open standard for mobile digital video broadcasting. The publication of TIA-1105, or Terrestrial Mobile Multimedia Multicast based on Digital Video Broadcasting for Handheld Devices (DVB-H) System gives official recognition to the specification and application of the global DVB-H standard in the United States. This is an important step toward broad adoption of the standard in the USA. The TIA is a major contributor of open industry standards that support global trade and commerce in communications products and systems.

Cost is Top Global Obstacle to 3G Adoption

2006-10-13T09:44:00.000Z

And although more people now have 3G phones than ever before (20 per cent of mobile users worldwide) less than half (9 per cent) are using their 3G capability. Of the 26 per cent of people who have Wi-Fi access through their phones (including Smartphones and PDA phones), just 11 per cent are using it - and mobile TV is no more popular, with only 9 of the 21 per cent of people with mobile TV-capable phones actually using this service.

The Reality of Mobile TV in the UK

2006-10-13T09:42:00.000Z

Mobile TV in the UK has started to become a reality and with the Oxford 3G/DVB-H Mobile TV trial revealing strong consumer demand for broadcast TV to mobiles, the Oxford University CPD Centre presents a new course in 3G / DVB-H (digital video broadcasting - handheld) Mobile TV.

Operators to test rival broadcast mobile TV system - Network World

2006-10-12T06:30:00.000Z

Four European mobile phone operators have agreed to test a new broadcast mobile TV technology that uses idle radio frequencies acquired with their 3G high-speed mobile licenses.

3UK, Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone Trial Mobile TV Powered by TDtv Technology

2006-10-11T11:49:00.000Z

3UK, Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone today announce the launch of a technical trial of TDtv, the UMTS TD-CDMA-3GPP Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Services (MBMS) standard-based solution. The trial is expected to provide valuable insights for mobile operators into the potential of using their existing spectrum and infrastructure to deliver mobile television and other multimedia services.

The TDtv trial, which is scheduled to run to the end of the year, will test key performance and deployment aspects of the mobile TV technology. TDtv base stations provided by IPWireless have been deployed on 12 cell sites covering parts of Bristol in the UK to provide broadcast services to TDtv enabled smart phones. MobiTV, Inc., the international mobile and broadband television services company, will provide the client application, as well as facilitate the mobile content and operational components of the trial.

TDtv operates in the universal unpaired 3G spectrum bands that are available across Europe and Asia at 1900MHz and 2010MHz. It allows UMTS operators to further utilise their existing spectrum and network infrastructure to offer subscribers attractive mobile TV and multimedia packages without impacting other voice and data 3G services.

TDtv enables mobile operators to deliver multiple TV channels to an unlimited number of customers. Mobile operators deploying TDtv would also be able to deliver digital audio, multicast, or other IP data cast services to enhance their service offerings to customers.

Mobile TV Makes Mark

2006-10-10T07:06:00.000Z

The mobile TV business may be in its infancy, but it's growing fast.

DVB-H Receiver is designed for multi-standard mobile TV., Frontier Silicon Ltd.

2006-10-06T07:06:00.000Z

Supporting DVB-H, DVB-T, T-DMB, DAB-IP, and enhanced packet mode DAB, Paradiso FS1030 addresses mobile TV handset receiver standards resulting from differing regional deployment and spectrum regulation plans. Programmable baseband receiver IC allows for receiving mobile TV, video, audio, and data services and has open RF interface as well as integrated 2 MB MPE-FEC memory. Along with DSP-based software architecture, peripherals set includes SPI, SDIO, and USB interfaces.

Mobile telly is different

2006-10-05T06:07:00.000Z

Traditional broadcasters need to understand that mobile TV is not just another channel but must be used differently if they are to get to grips with the new market.

Content will either have to be re-purposed for mobile or created specifically for mobile phones to be successful, according to Logica content and media VP Richard Porter. The success of user-generated content on services like YouTube means broadcasters will need to alter their scattergun approach. Porter used the example of Channel4's FourDocs programmes.

People will not use mobile TV in the same way as they use their plasma screens at home.

BT Movio Uses RadioScape’s Mobile TV Platform

2006-10-04T06:41:00.000Z

RadioScape, a world leader in digital multimedia head-end and receiver technology, has upgraded the Arqiva DAB multiplex that handles BT Movio’s wholesale Mobile TV service, which was launched on 1 October 2006. The upgrade is to the latest version of RadioScape’s DAB Professional Broadcast System Version 5.1 and enables multiplexes to handle Mobile TV broadcasting. The upgrade is part of an agreement that will enable Arqiva to begin upgrading its inventory of 47 DAB digital radio multiplexes in the UK, which forms the world’s largest DAB installation and is used to provide virtually all of the UK’s commercial DAB broadcasts.

3 UK reports 12 million downloads for SeeMeTV

2006-09-29T11:30:00.000Z

UK mobile operator 3 has reported more than 12 million downloads for its SeeMeTV service since launching it a year ago. Some 100,000 videos have been posted to SeeMeTV, with contributors generating GBP 250,000 in their own revenue as they share the proceeds from others downloading their clips. The service has recently been extended to include wallpapers and will also shortly include user-generated ringtones. Three's social networking site Kink Kommunity has signed up over 50,000 subscribers since launching in July. It receives on average 350,000 postings per day and generates 80,000 MMS submissions each month. Kink users can opt for either a daily (GBP 0.20) or monthly (GBP 1.49) giving full access to the online forum and as many images and videos as they like. Some 80 percent choose the monthly offer, with the service appealing mainly to 18- to 29-year-old range.

Europe says leads in mobile TV, but lacks frequency - washingtonpost.com

2006-09-29T06:08:00.000Z

Fabio Colasanti, a senior official at the EU executive, told Reuters on sidelines of a news conference, the Union aims to use a specific part of radio spectrum known as "L band" as a short term solution for joint frequency, but taking it into use will still take time.

Indiantelevision.com's Digital Edge: Motorola, PCCW launch mobile TV technical trial in Hong Kong

2006-09-25T06:41:00.000Z

Indiantelevision.com's Digital Edge: Motorola, PCCW launch mobile TV technical trial in Hong Kong

BT's Movio lurches into existence

2006-09-25T06:20:00.000Z

We have discovered in the past that this shortcut into mobile TV, using the existing DAB multiplexes around the UK that were built solely for digital audio radio, will deliver a TV channel in around 70 Kbps, as opposed to the 400 Kbps that is likely across the rest of Europe. That will make it look very average, if not downright unwatchable.

Making money from mobile TV? Don't ask us, guv - News Analysis - Mobile Europe

2006-09-22T07:04:00.000Z

How to make money from mobile TV still seems to be confusing the experts, with most agreeing that it is just too early to tell which models will work. A panel debate at Mobile Content World revealed little or note, in what is surely a crucial topic for the mobile industry.

At the moment, the best way of actually being profitable in mobile TV seems to be around brand extension of an existing sponsorship of a show. For example, Freemantle Media’s senior vp of interactive, Claire Tavernier, said Freemantle is making money from made for mobile content around its hit show X Factor.

But the twin, and crucial, questions of whether users would either support subscriptions for mobile TV, or whether there is or will be enough critical mass to support an advertising funded model remained unanswered – at least by this panel, which also included Eden Zoller, principal analyst at Ovum, and Selma Turajic, head of interactive media, Celador.

Mobile TV trial begins in Hong Kong

2006-09-22T07:03:00.000Z

Hong Kong's first trial of broadcast mobile TV will get underway later this month after local telecoms company PCCW partnered with Motorola for a six-month pilot.

PCCW, which is already a world leader in the emerging IPTV market, is testing out the feasibility of DVB-H (digital video broadcasting – handheld) technology with mobile communications specialist Motorola.

Rok TV launches FreeBe TV free service for mobile phones news story in Mobile phones - Pocket-lint.co.uk

2006-09-18T06:14:00.000Z

Rok TV has expanded its ever-growing portfolio of mobile services to include what the company claims is the first free mobile TV service.

Appropriately named FreeBe TV, the service is available in the US and in the UK, and is compatible with 14 handsets, including the Nokia N80 and N73, LG Fusic CU-300, and the Sony Ericsson W600i, W800i, W810i, K750i and W550i.

Motorola, Nokia to cooperate on mobile TV

2006-09-18T06:12:00.000Z

Motorola and Nokia announced that they will work to achieve interoperability among their DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast - Handheld) enabled mobile devices and network services. The handset manufacturers will work together to support solutions based on open DVB-IPDC standards available for operator partners interested in deploying multi-vendor mobile TV services and trials in 2006 and onward.

According to Informa, the mobile TV market is poised to grow exponentially - by 2010, there are anticipated to be over 50 mln DVB-H enabled mobile devices sold globally.

BT and ZTE 3G Mobile TV Handset

2006-09-13T14:09:00.000Z

BT today announced that is has signed an agreement with ZTE, a leading global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, to develop the world’s first 3G mobile handset compatible with BT Movio’s wholesale mobile entertainment service.

The new phone will enable 3G mobile operators to offer BT Movio’s broadcast mobile TV and DAB digital radio service, ideal for live, mass-market channels, alongside existing video-on-demand services and niche channels over their 3G networks. Consumers will not have to worry about which technology to choose; they will simply see a wider selection of channels and services, and will be able to enjoy them in clear, digital quality.

The agreement was signed today at a ceremony in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to mark the occasion of Chinese Premier Wen’s official visit to the UK. The agreement closely follows the commercial launch of BT Movio in the UK last week, in which BT Movio was confirmed as the first wholesale service in the world to offer a service consisting of mobile TV, DAB digital radio, 7-day programme guide and ‘red button’ interactivity for mobile phones.

ZTE will develop and supply multi-mode 3G/DAB-IP enabled handsets to further extend the portfolio of devices capable of supporting the BT Movio service.

Emma Lloyd, managing director, BT Movio said: “With China’s status as the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile devices, the partnership with ZTE provides evidence of the growing support for BT Movio’s IP based approach to mobile TV in the world’s most influential mobile market. Furthermore, with the introduction of the first 3G mobile device capable of supporting DAB-IP, we will be in a strong position to extend the BT Movio wholesale proposition to 3G mobile operators in the UK.”

:: Mobile DTV Alliance :: Home

2006-09-12T07:03:00.000Z

The Mobile DTV Alliance is an open industry consortium that focuses on promoting the best practices and open standards to deliver premium-quality broadcast television to mobile devices in North America. The alliance includes leading companies from across the mobile business system and entertainment value chain. Our promoters include Intel, Microsoft, Modeo, Motorola, Nokia and Texas Instruments.

Nokia, Motorola Shake Hands Over Mobile TV

2006-09-12T07:01:00.000Z

DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld) is only one of several competing digital TV standards on the road to market. Qualcomm's MediFlo, currently in testing by Sky Broadcasting, is the most notable of the others in the U.S, but there is also DAB-IP (digital audio broadcasting--Internet Protocol), about to be leveraged by BT and Virgin Mobile in the U.K., for example. German providers are already broadcasting using yet another stanard, T-DMB (Terrestrial-Digital Multimedia Broadcasting).

MobiTV Demos Live High Definition Television Over WiMAX Network

2006-09-12T06:54:00.000Z

CTIA - LOS ANGELES, Sept. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MobiTV, Inc.,
the global leader in mobile and broadband television and music services,
today announced it will offer attendees of the CTIA Wireless IT &
Entertainment show demonstrations of live High-Definition television
delivered over a pre-mobile WiMAX network. The real-time demonstration will
showcase the MobiTV(R) service running over Navini's Ripwave(TM) MX
equipment to both fixed and mobile customer premises equipment. This will
provide attendees with a preview of several 'Proof of Concepts' planned for
later this year.

Virgin's first mobile TV handset sighted - ZDNet UK News

2006-08-04T11:35:00.000Z

The first handset in the UK to support mobile broadcast TV has appeared in a Carphone Warehouse brochure, which quotes a September release date.

The catalogue has Virgin Mobile's Lobster 700 TV device — designed by HTC and running on Windows Mobile 5.0 — listed in the "coming soon" section.

Both Virgin Mobile and BT, whose technology will underpin the device, have been unwilling to name a launch date.

A spokesperson for Virgin Mobile declined to confirm the launch date on Thursday, telling ZDNet UK: "The date is still changing at the moment. We're looking at September but it might be a little later on."

There is also as yet no word from BT, which is supplying the content through its Movio platform, as to what programming users can expect.

The device will be the first in the UK to provide broadcast television to mobiles through the DAB-IP (Digital Audio Broadcasting — Internet Protocol) standard, which is a new extension of the popular digital radio platform DAB.

A rival standard, called DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting — Handheld) will theoretically provide a greater range of channels, but has been held up because the spectrum it needs isn't available in the UK.

Both standards promise a better user experience than previous efforts at TV handsets, which have been based on bandwidth-hungry 3G technology and have generally been limited to short clips.

Telstra tunes out of digital TV sale | Business | The Australian

2006-08-02T06:09:00.000Z

Telstra has pulled back on its commitment to a technology that is known as DVB-H, following a high-profile 12-month trial with Macquarie Bank's Broadcast Australia.

Mobile TV, using DVB-H, is at the centre of plans by Ms Coonan to release, or auction, two bands of broadcast spectrum for so-called "new services".

Telstra is instead advancing plans to use a different technology standard known as MBMS over its new mobile phone network, which will start operations early next year.

Clearwire Corp. Takes Aim at Mobile WiMax Business

2006-08-02T06:00:00.000Z

Less than three years old, Clearwire has struck alliances with Intel, Motorola and Bell Canada to give it a rapidly growing stake in the broadband wireless market, with a determination to be a major player in the mobile-capable WiMax technology that is just around the corner.

Vodafone denies 3G snub - ZDNet UK News

2006-08-01T15:34:00.000Z

Following reports that it has given up on recouping its 3G investment, Vodafone says customers are still keen on services like mobile TV, but admits video-calling is a flop

DVB-H rockets ahead in Italy

2006-07-31T05:33:00.000Z

3 Italia has this week filed a document at DVB Project saying that it already has 111,000 clients in the first five weeks (from 6 June to 11 July) after it was introduced on 6 June, making its take off even faster than the S-DMB service that was launched late last year in Korea – but then again Korea is a slightly smaller country, Italy has 58m people against Korea's 48m.

It took around three months to reach the first 100,000 users of S-DMB, and in Italy this has been achieved in under half the time. The key has been the wide availability of the network, with 1,000 transmitters supposedly covering 2,000 Italian cities (read towns rather than cities), and the idea that people can sample it by buying just a day or a week's TV at a time.