Yesterday's announcement that AT&T had agreed to purchase $2.5 billion in 700 MHz spectrum from privately-held Aloha Partners, parent firm of DVB-H proponent Hiwire, seemed to signal the end of DVB-H in the United States. Hiwire was the only remaining U.S. DVB-H player after Crown Castle International announced earlier this year that it was planning to spin off its Modeo business and exit the market. Hiwire was planning to use that 700 MHz spectrum to deploy a nationwide mobile TV network and this summer it launched a DVB-H trial in Las Vegas with partner T-Mobile USA.
But AT&T didn't just buy the 700 MHz spectrum from Aloha, it also purchased the Hiwire assets. I spoke with Scott Wills, president and COO of Hiwire, this morning and he said that those assets include the tower sites and the infrastructure equipment as well as access to the entire DVB-H ecosystem. He added that the current DVB-H trial in Las Vegas with T-Mobile USA will continue through the end of the year.
Wills wouldn't comment on the implications of this deal and AT&T has said that it's not sure how it will use the spectrum. But I think it's entirely possible that the operator will use that spectrum to deploy a DVB-H network and launch its own mobile TV service.
I know that AT&T is currently working with Qualcomm's MediaFLO subsidiary to launch a mobile broadcast TV service this year, but I've always felt that the alliance between those two parties was made because AT&T felt pressure from Verizon's broadcast TV offering (using MediaFLO) and the company felt the existing DVB-H players (Medio and Hiwire) were not progressing as quickly as AT&T desired.
But there's nothing stopping AT&T from using MediaFLO technology as a stopgap measure until the company can deploy its own DVB-H network using the spectrum it just purchased from Aloha.
I think there are some very compelling reasons for this strategy. AT&T could deploy a DVB-H network, offer more channels of programming than Verizon (Hiwire can offer 24 channels of programming while MediaFLO can offer just eight) and negotiate some interesting content deals that provide customers with programming whether it's over AT&T's U-Verse IPTV system, over AT&T's broadband network or over its DVB-H network. Doesn't this scenario fit with AT&T's three-screen philosophy? I think it does.
By Sue Marek
Source: http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/dvb-h-may-not-be-dead-yet/2007-10-10
Sunday, November 25, 2007
DVB-H puts TV on mobiles
As if phones didn't already have enough features, within the next few years, the mobile industry is going to add another major one: broadcast TV. The service will be consumer-led, but could there be other applications for business?
The leading standard for mobile TV, DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting - Handhelds), has emerged from Nokia and been standardised by the European standards group ETSI, as EN 302 304.
DVB-H means building a new radio receiver into the handset, tuned to whatever spectrum is going to be used for mobile video broadcasting. It sends 15 Mbit/s of data per 8MHz channel, and adds error correction to compensate for possible poor reception.
Nokia has created DVB-H handsets - basically its 7710 device with an add-on radio module. Integrated DVB-H devices are due next year. Other handset makers including Samsung have prototypes and are expected to follow suit.
At first DVB-H will only be in expensive handsets. As time passes, it will become cheaper, until the DVB-H capability costs as little as adding an FM radio receiver.
Mainly for consumers
DVB-H trials, in Helsinki, Oxford and about fifteen other places, have focussed on consumer services, in which users pay between €5 and €15 for up to 20 TV channels.
In the US, Pittsburgh has a trial service provided by Crown Castle, which has a nationwide licence for spectrum at 1.5GHz.
Mobile phones bring several benefits for a service like mobile TV. Firstly, they are in users' pockets already, so vendors don't have to sell a whole new device. Secondly, they can use the cellular network as a communications channel for services like interactive TV. And finally, because users are already paying a mobile bill, it is easy to bill them for extra services, and users will (operators hope) be willing to pay to see TV on their mobile.
Alternatively, some services may be free-to-air, supported by adverts. The broadcast and mobile industries will be jockeying for position as they get together in this new example of convergence.
What about the spectrum?
There are currently no bands set aside for DVB-H broadcasting. However, in the short term, the technology is similar enough to DAB (digital audio broadcasting) to use DAB bands. In the long term, the bandwidth dividend when analogue TV broadcasts are shut down (around 2012) will provide more than enough spectrum for broadcast to mobiles.
As operators scent money, licences for spectrum that can be used for DVB-H may be auctioned, and prices could be high. However, the UK is unlikely to see a repeat of the "3G auction" of 2000, for at least one reason. Ofcom has become technology neutral, and will want to sell spectrum without requiring any particular use.
Any competition?
Mobile phone users can already see TV programs on their handsets if they want to. For instance, Orange's MobiTV system broadcasts CNN and ITV news over the 3G network, to users with the Nokia 6680 handset.
However, using a two-way data network for broadcast data is wasteful and does not scale well. MobiTV is on a free trial at the moment, but the actual cost will be €15, for a limited time (24 hours viewing per week).
Other competition includes Qualcomm's MediaFlo, which the company is hoping to get off the ground.
In Korea, services exist using DMB (digital multimedia broadcast) and there are proposals for S-DMB (satellite digital multimedia broadcast), which would use a terrestrial repeater network to relay signals from satellites. DVB-H promoters label DMB as being too close to DAB. Designed for video, DVB-H gives more data per channel, say its backers.
Any other applications?
Broadcasting to handsets could be very useful for information such as traffic and weather reports, or even warnings and emergency information.
Like other broadcast services, it may also be possible to piggyback other data on it, perhaps including software upgrades for mobile devices, or updates to customer or product databases in devices carried by mobile workers.
Business impact – negative
Overall, however, the impact on business productivity is likely to be negative, as consumer services will eat into work time that employers have started to expect from mobile employees.
DVB-H is intended as a way to get users to consume more media content, at times when they are away from home. "The commute to work work will be a new prime time," says Markus Lindqvist, of Nokia Ventures Organisation.
TV content aimed directly at people trapped in trains might make them less inclined to pull out their laptops and work on their way home.
Source: http://www.techworld.com/mobility/features/index.cfm?featureid=1614
DVB-H puts TV on mobiles
As if phones didn't already have enough features, within the next few years, the mobile industry is going to add another major one: broadcast TV. The service will be consumer-led, but could there be other applications for business?
The leading standard for mobile TV, DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting - Handhelds), has emerged from Nokia and been standardised by the European standards group ETSI, as EN 302 304.
DVB-H means building a new radio receiver into the handset, tuned to whatever spectrum is going to be used for mobile video broadcasting. It sends 15 Mbit/s of data per 8MHz channel, and adds error correction to compensate for possible poor reception.
Nokia has created DVB-H handsets - basically its 7710 device with an add-on radio module. Integrated DVB-H devices are due next year. Other handset makers including Samsung have prototypes and are expected to follow suit.
At first DVB-H will only be in expensive handsets. As time passes, it will become cheaper, until the DVB-H capability costs as little as adding an FM radio receiver.
Mainly for consumers
DVB-H trials, in Helsinki, Oxford and about fifteen other places, have focussed on consumer services, in which users pay between €5 and €15 for up to 20 TV channels.
In the US, Pittsburgh has a trial service provided by Crown Castle, which has a nationwide licence for spectrum at 1.5GHz.
Mobile phones bring several benefits for a service like mobile TV. Firstly, they are in users' pockets already, so vendors don't have to sell a whole new device. Secondly, they can use the cellular network as a communications channel for services like interactive TV. And finally, because users are already paying a mobile bill, it is easy to bill them for extra services, and users will (operators hope) be willing to pay to see TV on their mobile.
Alternatively, some services may be free-to-air, supported by adverts. The broadcast and mobile industries will be jockeying for position as they get together in this new example of convergence.
What about the spectrum?
There are currently no bands set aside for DVB-H broadcasting. However, in the short term, the technology is similar enough to DAB (digital audio broadcasting) to use DAB bands. In the long term, the bandwidth dividend when analogue TV broadcasts are shut down (around 2012) will provide more than enough spectrum for broadcast to mobiles.
As operators scent money, licences for spectrum that can be used for DVB-H may be auctioned, and prices could be high. However, the UK is unlikely to see a repeat of the "3G auction" of 2000, for at least one reason. Ofcom has become technology neutral, and will want to sell spectrum without requiring any particular use.
Any competition?
Mobile phone users can already see TV programs on their handsets if they want to. For instance, Orange's MobiTV system broadcasts CNN and ITV news over the 3G network, to users with the Nokia 6680 handset.
However, using a two-way data network for broadcast data is wasteful and does not scale well. MobiTV is on a free trial at the moment, but the actual cost will be €15, for a limited time (24 hours viewing per week).
Other competition includes Qualcomm's MediaFlo, which the company is hoping to get off the ground.
In Korea, services exist using DMB (digital multimedia broadcast) and there are proposals for S-DMB (satellite digital multimedia broadcast), which would use a terrestrial repeater network to relay signals from satellites. DVB-H promoters label DMB as being too close to DAB. Designed for video, DVB-H gives more data per channel, say its backers.
Any other applications?
Broadcasting to handsets could be very useful for information such as traffic and weather reports, or even warnings and emergency information.
Like other broadcast services, it may also be possible to piggyback other data on it, perhaps including software upgrades for mobile devices, or updates to customer or product databases in devices carried by mobile workers.
Business impact – negative
Overall, however, the impact on business productivity is likely to be negative, as consumer services will eat into work time that employers have started to expect from mobile employees.
DVB-H is intended as a way to get users to consume more media content, at times when they are away from home. "The commute to work work will be a new prime time," says Markus Lindqvist, of Nokia Ventures Organisation.
TV content aimed directly at people trapped in trains might make them less inclined to pull out their laptops and work on their way home.
Source: http://www.techworld.com/mobility/features/index.cfm?featureid=1614
Samsung, Nokia Support Mobile TV Services Launch
Samsung and Nokia are going to work together to achieve interoperability amongst their DVB-H (digital video broadcast - handheld)-enabled mobile devices and the open standards-based Nokia network services system. The handset manufacturers will work together to support solutions based on the open OMA BCAST standard available for operator partners interested in deploying multi-vendor mobile TV services and trials in 2007 and onwards.
The deployment of mobile TV services will offer new business opportunities for companies across the value chain, including content and broadcast companies, mobile service providers, infrastructure and handset manufacturers, and technology providers. DVB-H technology offers high-service level quality, low battery consumption, and offers the end-user the ability to simultaneously receive broadcasts while using other mobile services such as telephony and internet access on their device.
"Within DVB-H technology, Samsung has already commercialised handsets based on the CBMS OSF standard and will develop the OMA BCAST standard based mobile TV handset. Its inclusion in our product portfolios will enhance our customers' flexibility in choosing suitable standards based on their business models," says Kwang Suk Hyun, senior vice president, alliance team, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
"Nokia warmly welcomes the collaboration in accelerating the adoption of DVB-H-based mobile TV services to the market. We see that the OMA BCAST standard is essential in launching mobile TV services on a global scale," says Harri Männistö, director, multimedia, Nokia. "Further, the well-defined service and content protection profiles within the OMA BCAST standard such as the already now available OMA DRM, provides the ideal path towards standardised solutions enabling a coherent and open market for successful worldwide mobile TV deployments."
In parallel to supporting mobile operators launching mobile TV services based on existing technologies in their networks, Samsung and Nokia are both active in ongoing standardisation and technology development to optimise the broadcast mobile TV experience. The companies will work on interoperability efforts using the open OMA standard while continuing to participate in industry-wide interoperability efforts within the related standardisation bodies.
The deployment of mobile TV services will offer new business opportunities for companies across the value chain, including content and broadcast companies, mobile service providers, infrastructure and handset manufacturers, and technology providers. DVB-H technology offers high-service level quality, low battery consumption, and offers the end-user the ability to simultaneously receive broadcasts while using other mobile services such as telephony and internet access on their device.
"Within DVB-H technology, Samsung has already commercialised handsets based on the CBMS OSF standard and will develop the OMA BCAST standard based mobile TV handset. Its inclusion in our product portfolios will enhance our customers' flexibility in choosing suitable standards based on their business models," says Kwang Suk Hyun, senior vice president, alliance team, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
"Nokia warmly welcomes the collaboration in accelerating the adoption of DVB-H-based mobile TV services to the market. We see that the OMA BCAST standard is essential in launching mobile TV services on a global scale," says Harri Männistö, director, multimedia, Nokia. "Further, the well-defined service and content protection profiles within the OMA BCAST standard such as the already now available OMA DRM, provides the ideal path towards standardised solutions enabling a coherent and open market for successful worldwide mobile TV deployments."
In parallel to supporting mobile operators launching mobile TV services based on existing technologies in their networks, Samsung and Nokia are both active in ongoing standardisation and technology development to optimise the broadcast mobile TV experience. The companies will work on interoperability efforts using the open OMA standard while continuing to participate in industry-wide interoperability efforts within the related standardisation bodies.
Samsung, Nokia Support Mobile TV Services Launch
Using DVB-H technology which deploys broadcast mobile TV amongst the many digital technologies available to deliver mobile TV services.
Samsung and Nokia are going to work together to achieve interoperability amongst their DVB-H (digital video broadcast - handheld)-enabled mobile devices and the open standards-based Nokia network services system. The handset manufacturers will work together to support solutions based on the open OMA BCAST standard available for operator partners interested in deploying multi-vendor mobile TV services and trials in 2007 and onwards.
The deployment of mobile TV services will offer new business opportunities for companies across the value chain, including content and broadcast companies, mobile service providers, infrastructure and handset manufacturers, and technology providers. DVB-H technology offers high-service level quality, low battery consumption, and offers the end-user the ability to simultaneously receive broadcasts while using other mobile services such as telephony and internet access on their device.
"Within DVB-H technology, Samsung has already commercialised handsets based on the CBMS OSF standard and will develop the OMA BCAST standard based mobile TV handset. Its inclusion in our product portfolios will enhance our customers' flexibility in choosing suitable standards based on their business models," says Kwang Suk Hyun, senior vice president, alliance team, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
"Nokia warmly welcomes the collaboration in accelerating the adoption of DVB-H-based mobile TV services to the market. We see that the OMA BCAST standard is essential in launching mobile TV services on a global scale," says Harri Männistö, director, multimedia, Nokia. "Further, the well-defined service and content protection profiles within the OMA BCAST standard such as the already now available OMA DRM, provides the ideal path towards standardised solutions enabling a coherent and open market for successful worldwide mobile TV deployments."
In parallel to supporting mobile operators launching mobile TV services based on existing technologies in their networks, Samsung and Nokia are both active in ongoing standardisation and technology development to optimise the broadcast mobile TV experience. The companies will work on interoperability efforts using the open OMA standard while continuing to participate in industry-wide interoperability efforts within the related standardisation bodies.
Source: http://www.efytimes.com/efytimes/fullnews.asp?edid=18324
Samsung and Nokia are going to work together to achieve interoperability amongst their DVB-H (digital video broadcast - handheld)-enabled mobile devices and the open standards-based Nokia network services system. The handset manufacturers will work together to support solutions based on the open OMA BCAST standard available for operator partners interested in deploying multi-vendor mobile TV services and trials in 2007 and onwards.
The deployment of mobile TV services will offer new business opportunities for companies across the value chain, including content and broadcast companies, mobile service providers, infrastructure and handset manufacturers, and technology providers. DVB-H technology offers high-service level quality, low battery consumption, and offers the end-user the ability to simultaneously receive broadcasts while using other mobile services such as telephony and internet access on their device.
"Within DVB-H technology, Samsung has already commercialised handsets based on the CBMS OSF standard and will develop the OMA BCAST standard based mobile TV handset. Its inclusion in our product portfolios will enhance our customers' flexibility in choosing suitable standards based on their business models," says Kwang Suk Hyun, senior vice president, alliance team, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
"Nokia warmly welcomes the collaboration in accelerating the adoption of DVB-H-based mobile TV services to the market. We see that the OMA BCAST standard is essential in launching mobile TV services on a global scale," says Harri Männistö, director, multimedia, Nokia. "Further, the well-defined service and content protection profiles within the OMA BCAST standard such as the already now available OMA DRM, provides the ideal path towards standardised solutions enabling a coherent and open market for successful worldwide mobile TV deployments."
In parallel to supporting mobile operators launching mobile TV services based on existing technologies in their networks, Samsung and Nokia are both active in ongoing standardisation and technology development to optimise the broadcast mobile TV experience. The companies will work on interoperability efforts using the open OMA standard while continuing to participate in industry-wide interoperability efforts within the related standardisation bodies.
Source: http://www.efytimes.com/efytimes/fullnews.asp?edid=18324
Commission opens Europe's Single Market for Mobile TV services
The Commission has adopted a strategy favouring the take-up of mobile TV across the 27 EU Member States. The Commission urges Member States and industry to facilitate and accelerate the deployment of mobile TV across Europe and to encourage the use of DVB-H as the single European standard for mobile TV.
"Mobile broadcasting is a tremendous opportunity for Europe to maintain and expand its leadership in mobile technology and audiovisual services," said Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for the Information Society and Media. "Europe is today at a crossroads. We can either take the lead globally – as we did for mobile telephony based on the GSM standard developed by the European industry – or allow other regions take the lion's share of the promising mobile TV market. 'Wait-and-see' is not an option. The time has come for Europe's industry and governments to switch on to mobile TV."
Until now, the introduction and take-up of mobile TV in the EU has been slow while Europe's competitors have progressed significantly. Unless Europe takes concrete action immediately, it risks losing its competitive edge. For example, the mobile TV penetration rate of South Korea, Asia's most developed mobile TV market, is close to 10%. Yet penetration in Italy, the EU's most advanced market, is still less than 1%.
The Commission is strongly committed to the success of mobile TV (see IP/07/340) which could be a market of up to €20 billion by 2011, reaching some 500 million customers worldwide. The Commission sees today's Communication on Strengthening the Internal Market for Mobile TV as crucial to create jobs and business opportunities for content creators, service providers and hardware manufacturers, and to bring new value-added services to citizens.
Three key success factors have been identified by the Commission for mobile TV take-up:
1) Standards/interoperability: The Commission will promote consensus around a common standard, to reduce market fragmentation caused by multiple technical options for mobile TV transmission. The universal success of the GSM standard – which had been strongly supported by the Commission and Member States at the end of the 1980s – proves the benefit of a common standard. Currently, DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting for Handhelds) technology is the strongest contender for future mobile TV, with successful commercial launches and trials in 18 European countries, and increasingly worldwide. The Commission will therefore in the weeks to come prepare the inclusion of DVB-H in the EU's official list of standards (published in the EU's Official Journal) and will thereby legally encourage its use in all 27 Member States. It will look closely at market developments over the next months and come with proposals in 2008 including, if necessary and appropriate, mandating the use of DVB-H.
2) Spectrum: Today's Communication outlines the need of an EU strategy for the "digital dividend", the premium spectrum that will be freed up by the switch-off from traditional analogue to digital TV broadcasting. The Commission calls upon Member States to make spectrum available for mobile broadcasting as quickly as possible, including in the UHF band (470-862 MHz) as it becomes available. This is considered the most suitable spectrum for mobile multimedia services due to its technical characteristics. The Commission has also initiated the opening to mobile TV services of another frequency band, the so-called L-band (1452-1492 MHz) as a fallback solution.
3) A favourable regulatory environment: National approaches to regulating mobile TV vary considerably at the moment. This generates regulatory uncertainty across the EU. The Commission considers that mobile TV is a nascent service and as such should benefit from "light touch" regulation. It will organise an exchange of best practice and provide guidance for a coherent framework for mobile TV authorisation regimes.
2008 is considered by the Commission as a crucial year for mobile TV take-up in the EU due to important sports events, such as the European Football Championship and the Summer Olympic Games, which will provide a unique opportunity for raising consumers' awareness and for the adoption of new services.
Source: http://www.europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/07/1118&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
2007: The year of mobile TV
(Business 2.0 Magazine) -- Will 2007 be the year American consumers can finally watch live football wherever and however they want? Judging by the onslaught of mobile TV-related announcements and demos (the majority of which made reference to the current football season) at this week's Consumer Electronics Show, the answer is a resounding "Yes."
But just how much will even the most hard-core football fans - or even just your average TV addict - be willing to pay to carry their content with them wherever they go?
One of the biggest CES announcements, made last Sunday, was that Verizon Wireless (Charts) would soon launch live, full-length television programming, including hits such as Fox's "24" and Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" on cell phones. Verizon's calling the service, powered by Qualcomm's MediaFLO technology, V Cast Mobile TV.
This $310,000 phone blings, then rings
The company won't say just how much they will charge for the new offering, but subscribers to Verizon's current V Cast service, which offers access to videos and music, already pay $15 a month, on top of the price of a voice plan. And it's not clear just how much more they'd be willing to shell out.
"You've got a bit of a disconnect between the current pricing of these services and the fact that this is still an early phase in the market, and there is somewhat of an unwillingness to pay up on the consumers' end," says Linda Barrabee, an analyst with the Yankee Group. "The mobile market is still primarily about voice, then messaging."
According to Barrabee, an estimated 5.3 million wireless users - a mere 2.5 percent of total subscribers - currently subscribe to video services. Of course, that number will probably grow, but just how much will depend on what mobile TV services cost and how easy they are to use.
"It all comes down to form factor and price point," Barrabee says. "Unless it's easy for the consumer to use, mobile TV will continue to be an experience for early adopters only."
But companies like Verizon are hoping to reach far beyond the early adopters.
One way they may be able to do that, says Barrabee, is by letting subscribers test a service before they commit, and by offering them several ways to pay up.
Verizon's already done that by recently launching pay-by-the-day access to V Cast videos and music. The service costs just $3 a day, and users don't have to commit beyond a single day. This approach could work especially well with the youth market - the type of TV-loving, yet cost-conscious customers that V Cast Mobile TV is likely to attract.
YouTube goes 'moblogging'
Another way around the pricing problem is an ad-supported, or at least partially ad-funded, model. That could be what mobile television service provider MobiTV has in mind: Monday at CES, the Emeryville, Calif. based company announced it will soon add an interactive advertising component to its mobile television technology, which powers the mobile TV services for Sprint Nextel (Charts) and Cingular Wireless (Charts).
MobiTV will enable advertisers to send out promotional coupons, WAP-based surveys and contests, and deliver localized ads based on users' zip codes. The company says it currently has over one million paying users. And if advertisers start snapping up interactive ad space on MobiTV's service, that could provide Sprint and Cingular some additional revenues, lowering mobile TV subscription fees for users.
Samsung also jumped on the mobile TV bandwagon at CES, announcing on Sunday its new mobile television standard, dubbed A-VSB. The Korea-based company says that the new technology will enable local broadcasters to transmit a mobile digital TV signal on the same frequency they now use for standard broadcasting, meaning they won't have to buy up additional spectrum.
By transmitting the signal that way, consumers will be able to watch live, local broadcasting on any A-VSB compatible mobile devices (which Samsung intends to sell soon as the new standard is adopted), even while traveling at high speeds.
"You could say we're liberating the couch potato," said John Godfrey, vice president of government and public affairs at Samsung, moments after the company unveiled the new technology in Las Vegas.
But just how badly does the couch potato want to be liberated? And at what price?
AT&T and Verizon: Wireless at heart
In places like Korea, where Samsung is based and where mobile TV has already taken off, nearly 14 percent cell phones support Digital Mobile Broadcast television, according to ABI Research. That's a high number, compared to most other countries, except maybe Japan.
But ABI Research expects mobile TV will be someday be a cash cow globally as well. According to the firm's forecasts, there will be half a billion mobile video subscribers by 2011. What was a $50 million industry back in 2005 will be worth several hundred billion dollars by 2011. And ABI believes advertising revenues from broadcast mobile video will dwarf subscription revenues from these services.
If Korea is any example, then mobile TV just might become the booming business ABI Research projects it will be. After all, we are a nation of TV addicts.
by Michal Lev-Ram, Business 2.0 Magazine writer-reporter
Source: http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/10/magazines/business2/cesmobiletv.biz2/index.htm
But just how much will even the most hard-core football fans - or even just your average TV addict - be willing to pay to carry their content with them wherever they go?
One of the biggest CES announcements, made last Sunday, was that Verizon Wireless (Charts) would soon launch live, full-length television programming, including hits such as Fox's "24" and Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" on cell phones. Verizon's calling the service, powered by Qualcomm's MediaFLO technology, V Cast Mobile TV.
This $310,000 phone blings, then rings
The company won't say just how much they will charge for the new offering, but subscribers to Verizon's current V Cast service, which offers access to videos and music, already pay $15 a month, on top of the price of a voice plan. And it's not clear just how much more they'd be willing to shell out.
"You've got a bit of a disconnect between the current pricing of these services and the fact that this is still an early phase in the market, and there is somewhat of an unwillingness to pay up on the consumers' end," says Linda Barrabee, an analyst with the Yankee Group. "The mobile market is still primarily about voice, then messaging."
According to Barrabee, an estimated 5.3 million wireless users - a mere 2.5 percent of total subscribers - currently subscribe to video services. Of course, that number will probably grow, but just how much will depend on what mobile TV services cost and how easy they are to use.
"It all comes down to form factor and price point," Barrabee says. "Unless it's easy for the consumer to use, mobile TV will continue to be an experience for early adopters only."
But companies like Verizon are hoping to reach far beyond the early adopters.
One way they may be able to do that, says Barrabee, is by letting subscribers test a service before they commit, and by offering them several ways to pay up.
Verizon's already done that by recently launching pay-by-the-day access to V Cast videos and music. The service costs just $3 a day, and users don't have to commit beyond a single day. This approach could work especially well with the youth market - the type of TV-loving, yet cost-conscious customers that V Cast Mobile TV is likely to attract.
YouTube goes 'moblogging'
Another way around the pricing problem is an ad-supported, or at least partially ad-funded, model. That could be what mobile television service provider MobiTV has in mind: Monday at CES, the Emeryville, Calif. based company announced it will soon add an interactive advertising component to its mobile television technology, which powers the mobile TV services for Sprint Nextel (Charts) and Cingular Wireless (Charts).
MobiTV will enable advertisers to send out promotional coupons, WAP-based surveys and contests, and deliver localized ads based on users' zip codes. The company says it currently has over one million paying users. And if advertisers start snapping up interactive ad space on MobiTV's service, that could provide Sprint and Cingular some additional revenues, lowering mobile TV subscription fees for users.
Samsung also jumped on the mobile TV bandwagon at CES, announcing on Sunday its new mobile television standard, dubbed A-VSB. The Korea-based company says that the new technology will enable local broadcasters to transmit a mobile digital TV signal on the same frequency they now use for standard broadcasting, meaning they won't have to buy up additional spectrum.
By transmitting the signal that way, consumers will be able to watch live, local broadcasting on any A-VSB compatible mobile devices (which Samsung intends to sell soon as the new standard is adopted), even while traveling at high speeds.
"You could say we're liberating the couch potato," said John Godfrey, vice president of government and public affairs at Samsung, moments after the company unveiled the new technology in Las Vegas.
But just how badly does the couch potato want to be liberated? And at what price?
AT&T and Verizon: Wireless at heart
In places like Korea, where Samsung is based and where mobile TV has already taken off, nearly 14 percent cell phones support Digital Mobile Broadcast television, according to ABI Research. That's a high number, compared to most other countries, except maybe Japan.
But ABI Research expects mobile TV will be someday be a cash cow globally as well. According to the firm's forecasts, there will be half a billion mobile video subscribers by 2011. What was a $50 million industry back in 2005 will be worth several hundred billion dollars by 2011. And ABI believes advertising revenues from broadcast mobile video will dwarf subscription revenues from these services.
If Korea is any example, then mobile TV just might become the booming business ABI Research projects it will be. After all, we are a nation of TV addicts.
by Michal Lev-Ram, Business 2.0 Magazine writer-reporter
Source: http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/10/magazines/business2/cesmobiletv.biz2/index.htm
NDS RadioGuard wins “Cool Stuff” award from Radio World
NDS RadioGuard has been named the winner of the Radio World “Cool Stuff” Award, presented by a panel of engineering judges on behalf of Radio World newspaper.
RadioGuard, conditional access solution for HD Radio broadcasting, protects digital content transmitted over HD Radio signals. The award was announced at the NAB2007 show in Las Vegas.
NDS debuted RadioGuard at NAB and announced that the solution has been selected by iBiquity Digital Corporation to protect digital content transmitted over HD Radio broadcasting.
“We believe the NDS RadioGuard solution could be a transformational technology for the radio industry and with that in mind, we certainly thought it deserved our Cool Stuff Award,” said Paul J. McLane, U.S. Editor in Chief of Radio World. “As an award winner, NDS and RadioGuard will be featured in our June 6th issue will be read by thousands of broadcast professionals in the United States.”
Tom Rucktenwald, Director of Data Applications Delivery for NDS states, “With RadioGuard, we are bringing our world-renowned conditional access solution to the HD Radio market, and we are thrilled to have its importance to the industry validated by this prestigious award.”
Source: http://www.mobiletv-news.com/content/view/325/2/
RadioGuard, conditional access solution for HD Radio broadcasting, protects digital content transmitted over HD Radio signals. The award was announced at the NAB2007 show in Las Vegas.
NDS debuted RadioGuard at NAB and announced that the solution has been selected by iBiquity Digital Corporation to protect digital content transmitted over HD Radio broadcasting.
“We believe the NDS RadioGuard solution could be a transformational technology for the radio industry and with that in mind, we certainly thought it deserved our Cool Stuff Award,” said Paul J. McLane, U.S. Editor in Chief of Radio World. “As an award winner, NDS and RadioGuard will be featured in our June 6th issue will be read by thousands of broadcast professionals in the United States.”
Tom Rucktenwald, Director of Data Applications Delivery for NDS states, “With RadioGuard, we are bringing our world-renowned conditional access solution to the HD Radio market, and we are thrilled to have its importance to the industry validated by this prestigious award.”
Source: http://www.mobiletv-news.com/content/view/325/2/
Irdeto to secure T-Mobile Hungary and Antenna Hungária DVB-H Trial
In this May 2007, Irdeto has been selected by Hungary’s mobile operator, T Mobile Hungary and broadcast-service provider, Antenna Hungária to provide its Irdeto Mobile Broadcast content security solution for DVB-H end-to-end technical trial.
The trial will test interactive services, technical capabilities and performance of the DVB-H solution in Hungary’s capital city, Budapest
"AH enjoys the main position in the Hungarian broadcasting market where the key opportunity is the forthcoming digitalization. AH aims to be the main digital technology service provider, offering services also for mobile operators. Consequently, entering the mobile TV broadcasting market via DVB-H is one of the most important strategic initiatives for the company," said Mr. András Tóth, director of Communication and Marketing for Antenna Hungária.
"Irdeto has been developing and deploying mobile TV content security solutions for nearly four years now," said Graham Kill, CEO of Irdeto. "Our implementation experience, our support of every major mobile standard including DVB-H, T/S-DMB and MediaFLO and the outstanding availability of Irdeto-integrated handsets will continue to make Irdeto the provider of choice for mobile TV operators worldwide."
source: http://www.mobiletv-news.com/content/view/327/2/
The trial will test interactive services, technical capabilities and performance of the DVB-H solution in Hungary’s capital city, Budapest
"AH enjoys the main position in the Hungarian broadcasting market where the key opportunity is the forthcoming digitalization. AH aims to be the main digital technology service provider, offering services also for mobile operators. Consequently, entering the mobile TV broadcasting market via DVB-H is one of the most important strategic initiatives for the company," said Mr. András Tóth, director of Communication and Marketing for Antenna Hungária.
"Irdeto has been developing and deploying mobile TV content security solutions for nearly four years now," said Graham Kill, CEO of Irdeto. "Our implementation experience, our support of every major mobile standard including DVB-H, T/S-DMB and MediaFLO and the outstanding availability of Irdeto-integrated handsets will continue to make Irdeto the provider of choice for mobile TV operators worldwide."
source: http://www.mobiletv-news.com/content/view/327/2/
Envivio introduces new 4Stream IP Gateway for Mobile TV services providers
May, 2007 – Envivio has introduced its 4Stream IP gateway for IPTV and mobile TV service providers.
The 4Stream IP Gateway is part of the Envivio all-IP Convergence Generation video headend. Announced in March of 2007, the headend also features the 4Caster C4 IP video encoders and the 4Caster M2 Mobile TV encoders both with IP input, as well as the 4Manager network management and redundancy system.
Supporting an all IP infrastructure, the headend solution claims to provide a multi-service platform capable of addressing the key devices targeted by service providers who control both fixed and wireless networks. The solution offers routing, simplified management and redundancy, requires less space and is easier to manage and deploy than today’s traditional IPTV and mobile TV headends.
“The Convergence Generation headend with the new 4Stream IP gateway provides a full end-to-end IP architecture from video reception to subscribers’ TVs or mobile devices,” said Julien Signès, President and CEO of Envivio Inc. “The IP headend architecture is a fundamental milestone for the video compression industry as it meets the challenges posed by network convergence towards IP and the demand by merged fixed line and mobile carriers for multiservice platforms.”
source: http://www.mobiletv-news.com/content/view/328/2/
The 4Stream IP Gateway is part of the Envivio all-IP Convergence Generation video headend. Announced in March of 2007, the headend also features the 4Caster C4 IP video encoders and the 4Caster M2 Mobile TV encoders both with IP input, as well as the 4Manager network management and redundancy system.
Supporting an all IP infrastructure, the headend solution claims to provide a multi-service platform capable of addressing the key devices targeted by service providers who control both fixed and wireless networks. The solution offers routing, simplified management and redundancy, requires less space and is easier to manage and deploy than today’s traditional IPTV and mobile TV headends.
“The Convergence Generation headend with the new 4Stream IP gateway provides a full end-to-end IP architecture from video reception to subscribers’ TVs or mobile devices,” said Julien Signès, President and CEO of Envivio Inc. “The IP headend architecture is a fundamental milestone for the video compression industry as it meets the challenges posed by network convergence towards IP and the demand by merged fixed line and mobile carriers for multiservice platforms.”
source: http://www.mobiletv-news.com/content/view/328/2/
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Mobile TV market already predicted well....
According to Multimedia Research Group (MRG), the number of mobile video enabled devices will grow from over 240 million TV enabled handsets and over $2.9 billion of infrastructure equipment will be sold from 2007-2011.
In their new Mobile TV: Global Standards Review & Forecast for Infrastructure and Handsets-2007-20111, MRG details the key factors that are contributing to or affecting the growth of the mobile video industry including:
- Current drivers and set backs of global mobile video growth
- Current state of mobile video deployments in Finland, Italy and Korea
- The initiation of mobile video deployments in Europe and Asia
- Success of a number of early mobile video deployments in Europe and Asia
MRG's research predicts that there should be a large upswing in the number of mobile television systems coming online towards the end of the decade. Due to this rapid increase of the number of system, the mobile TV enabled handsets will have its highest increase from 2008 to 2009 with more than 250% growth.
MRGs global mobile video subscriber forecast from 2006 to 20011 and how it has an annual growth rate of over 63%. This chart shows that the number of subscribers will grow from 7 million subscribers in 2006 to 82 million in 2011.
The report identifies that boredom is a key driver for market demand for mobile TV services. In Finland, the UK, France, Korea and Japan, prime times of use of mobile video included in journey time to work, in work break and in early evening posts work and also later in the home.
MRG demonstrated that about 13% of people asked in surveys thought mobile video "it might take off," while in broadcast services which offer up to 4 times the resolution, around 60% say "We'd buy it," or "It will take off.
Some mobile service providers in Asia are having difficulty with marketing the service, poor execution at the network and establishing content availability with early experiments. In Italy around 300,000 customers have bought mobile TV in 6 months out of a population of the 6.8 million existing customers of the operator 3 Italia. The growth in Korea decreased due to a slower than expected rate of mobile video customers, with only 3 million customers in a country of 48 million people with two working systems.
MRG reviewed the different types of systems that can provide mobile television services and determined that these systems include mobile 3G systems, wireless broadband (WiMax) and mobile broadcast networks.
MRG predicts that mobile 3G networks will evolve from providing mobile TV services on unicast systems (e.g. circuit connections and HSPDA) through multicast services (MBMS) and eventually provide mobile TV services on 100 Mbps long term evolution (LTE) 3G sytems in 2009. MRG analyzed the WiMax systems and anticipates that WiMax systems will evolve from unicast systems to multicast systems in the 2009 time period. MRG reviewed mobile terrestrial (DVB-H) and mobile satellite (DVB-SH) systems and estimated they will progress to mass deployments in the 2008 and 2009 time periods. Figure 2 shows how the development of wireless networks can provide mobile television services.
Source : http://www.mvideomagazine.com/mv_statistics.html
In their new Mobile TV: Global Standards Review & Forecast for Infrastructure and Handsets-2007-20111, MRG details the key factors that are contributing to or affecting the growth of the mobile video industry including:
- Current drivers and set backs of global mobile video growth
- Current state of mobile video deployments in Finland, Italy and Korea
- The initiation of mobile video deployments in Europe and Asia
- Success of a number of early mobile video deployments in Europe and Asia
MRG's research predicts that there should be a large upswing in the number of mobile television systems coming online towards the end of the decade. Due to this rapid increase of the number of system, the mobile TV enabled handsets will have its highest increase from 2008 to 2009 with more than 250% growth.
MRGs global mobile video subscriber forecast from 2006 to 20011 and how it has an annual growth rate of over 63%. This chart shows that the number of subscribers will grow from 7 million subscribers in 2006 to 82 million in 2011.
The report identifies that boredom is a key driver for market demand for mobile TV services. In Finland, the UK, France, Korea and Japan, prime times of use of mobile video included in journey time to work, in work break and in early evening posts work and also later in the home.
MRG demonstrated that about 13% of people asked in surveys thought mobile video "it might take off," while in broadcast services which offer up to 4 times the resolution, around 60% say "We'd buy it," or "It will take off.
Some mobile service providers in Asia are having difficulty with marketing the service, poor execution at the network and establishing content availability with early experiments. In Italy around 300,000 customers have bought mobile TV in 6 months out of a population of the 6.8 million existing customers of the operator 3 Italia. The growth in Korea decreased due to a slower than expected rate of mobile video customers, with only 3 million customers in a country of 48 million people with two working systems.
MRG reviewed the different types of systems that can provide mobile television services and determined that these systems include mobile 3G systems, wireless broadband (WiMax) and mobile broadcast networks.
MRG predicts that mobile 3G networks will evolve from providing mobile TV services on unicast systems (e.g. circuit connections and HSPDA) through multicast services (MBMS) and eventually provide mobile TV services on 100 Mbps long term evolution (LTE) 3G sytems in 2009. MRG analyzed the WiMax systems and anticipates that WiMax systems will evolve from unicast systems to multicast systems in the 2009 time period. MRG reviewed mobile terrestrial (DVB-H) and mobile satellite (DVB-SH) systems and estimated they will progress to mass deployments in the 2008 and 2009 time periods. Figure 2 shows how the development of wireless networks can provide mobile television services.
Source : http://www.mvideomagazine.com/mv_statistics.html
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Renesas Technology Enhances Terrestrial Digital Broadcast Capable Product Lineup in SH-Mobile Application Processor Series
Renesas Technology Enhances Terrestrial Digital Broadcast Capable Product Lineup in SH-Mobile Application Processor Series
There are two new models comprising a version incorporating image quality improving functions and a small-package version, providing terrestrial digital broadcast capable mobile phone solutions.
Tokyo, September 25, 2007−− Renesas Technology Corp. today announced two new models augmenting the terrestrial digital broadcast capable product lineup in the SH-Mobile*1 Series of mobile phone application processors: the SH-MobileL3V2 (product name: SH7362) featuring enhanced image quality improvement functions and lower power consumption, and the small-package SH-MobileUL (product name: SH7363), offering excellent cost performance, for popular mobile phone models. Sample shipments will begin in October 2007 in Japan.
These two new models are functionally enhanced or specialized versions of Renesas Technology's current SH-Mobile L3V (product name: SH7354), and offer the following features.
(1) Common Features
1-1) High-performance, low-power-consumption multi-CODEC video processing IP
Both models incorporate a VPU (Video Processing Unit) high-performance video processing IP that supports the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC (referred to below as H.264) moving image compression standard used in Japanese ISDB-T*2 terrestrial digital broadcasting, and achieves 30 fps (frame per second) encoding and decoding performance at VGA definition. This IP supports MPEG-4 encoding/decoding and VC-1 decoding as well as H.264, enabling these products to handle various moving image applications such as video mail, video phones, and video clips. In addition, these application processors can support digital broadcasting systems used outside Japan, such as DVB-H*3 in Europe and DMB*4 in South Korea.
1-2) High-performance 266 MHz SH4AL-DSP CPU core
These new models incorporate an SH4AL-DSP CPU core that achieves high processing performance of 478 MIPS (million instructions per second) at a maximum operating frequency of 266 MHz, enabling high-speed processing of various applications.
(2) SH-MobileL3V2 Features
The SH-MobileL3V2 offers lower power consumption together with enhanced functionality through the provision of image quality improvement functions. 2-1) On-chip image quality improvement functions providing versatile, high-quality video display
Image quality improvement functions comprising a gamma correction function and enlargement edge enhancement function have been newly incorporated. The gamma correction function includes three kind of correction - a. histogram extension type gamma correction, b. screen brightness correspondence type gamma correction, and c. adaptive type chroma correction - and allows adjustment of image quality for individual TV scenes, enabling clear, high-quality video display to be achieved. The enlargement edge enhancement function prevents fuzziness when a QVGA-size image is enlarged to VGA or WVGA size by performing enhancement and inter-dot compensation in edge areas, and noise elimination by means of a filter. These functions enable versatile, high-quality video display to be achieved, and allow high-quality terrestrial digital broadcasts to be viewed on a mobile phone.
2-2) On-chip hardware dedicated audio DSP contributing to lower power consumption
A hardware 24-bit dedicated audio DSP is included for audio processing, providing ample power to handle audio processing using AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), MP3, or a similar compression system. Also, while processing of the aacPlus audio compression system used for terrestrial digital broadcast has previously required CPU processing capacity of approximately 50 MHz, the use of a dedicated audio DSP enables to eliminate the need of CPU processing. Processing by means of dedicated hardware results in lower current consumption than with the previous product, enabling TV viewing time to be extended.
(3) SH-MobileUL Features
With an optimized set of peripheral functions specialized for terrestrial digital broadcast applications, and the use of a small 8 mm x 8 mm package, the SH-MobileUL offers excellent cost performance in terms of functions and price. The use of a small package has enabled the mounting area to be reduced by approximately 30% or more compared with the previous Renesas Technology product. The SH-MobileUL is ideal for use in popular mobile phone models with terrestrial digital broadcast capability, and will contribute to the achievement of lower mobile phone prices.
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The market has recently witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of mobile phones and other portable information devices supporting terrestrial digital broadcasting. Renesas Technology led the world with the release of the SH-Mobile Series of dedicated microprocessors for application processing in mobile phone systems, and has contributed to the advancement of multimedia applications for mobile phones. Renesas was also quick to release SH-Mobile Series products for terrestrial digital broadcast capable mobile phones, and these are currently used in many mobile phone systems. Now, with the popularity of terrestrial digital broadcast capable mobile phones increasing at an accelerating rate, market needs include the implementation of lower-priced mobile phone systems as well as high-added-value products offering higher-quality viewing.
In response to these needs, Renesas Technology has now, based on the company’s current SH-MobileL3V, developed the SH-MobileL3V2 incorporating impressive image quality improvement functions, and the SH-MobileUL featuring compact size and excellent cost performance through optimization of functions necessary for terrestrial digital broadcast capability.
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Both of these two new models incorporate a VPU high-performance video processing IP and a high-performance SH4AL-DSP CPU core.
As moving image compression standards, the VPU supports both H.264 used in terrestrial digital broadcasting and MPEG-4 used for video clips, video phones, and so forth, and implements high-speed encoding/decoding processing at low power consumption. This allows the CPU to perform other processing when H.264 moving image data is being processed by the VPU, enabling the frequency to be kept low and low power consumption to be achieved.
The CPU core offers high processing performance of 478 MIPS at a maximum operating frequency of 266 MHz, and achieves unit-frequency performance of 1.8 MIPS/MHz, ample for operating a terrestrial digital broadcast capable browser.
The SH-MobileL3V2 enables extended viewing of terrestrial digital broadcasts with higher image quality. The provision of image quality improvement functions such as a gamma correction function and enlargement edge enhancement function enable higher-quality terrestrial digital broadcast displays to be achieved on mobile phones.
A further feature is an on-chip hardware 24-bit dedicated audio DSP. Performing processing by means of dedicated hardware enables the CPU's processing load to be reduced, further reducing power consumption and making a longer TV viewing time possible.
A camera interface that allows direct connection of a 5-megapixel-class camera module is also provided. This makes it possible to capture large volumes of image data from a high-definition camera at high speed, and perform various kinds of display, such as electronic image zoom display, screen overlapping, and so forth, by means of an OSD (On Screen Display) function, HWC (Hardware Cursor) function, and the like. Furthermore, BT.709 type YUV data is supported for ISDB-T broadcasting. As a result, it is possible to perform extraction of TV broadcast data and conversion to a JPEG image without loss of image quality. A variety of other on-chip peripheral functions suited to mobile phone system use are also incorporated, including an LCD controller supporting 24-bit TFT color liquid crystal panels, an SD memory card*5 interface, a SIM card interface, and a sound interface.
The SH-MobileUL offers excellent cost performance as a processor featuring functions especially suited to mobile phone terrestrial digital broadcast applications. While incorporating the same moving image engine and high-performance CPU core as the SH-MobileL3V2, the SH-MobileUL is a cost-performance oriented product featuring peripheral functions optimized for terrestrial digital broadcast applications as well as more compact dimensions thanks to a smaller pin count.
The SH-MobileL3V2 uses a 281-pin BGA package (9 mm x 11 mm, 0.5 mm pin pitch), and the SH-MobileUL a small 224-pin BGA package (8 mm x 8 mm, 0.5 mm pin pitch). The SH-MobileL3V2 has 256-Mbit SDRAM, and the SH-MobileUL 128-Mbit SDRAM, as an SiP (System in Package), enabling compact mounting.
Renesas Technology will exhibit these new products at CEATEC JAPAN 2007 being held at Makuhari Messe from October 2.
Renesas Technology will continue to develop SH-Mobile Series products that keep pace with evolving multimedia applications and higher speeds in mobile phone systems, and to ensure the timely release of products that fully meet the needs of the market.
Notes: 1. SH-Mobile (SuperH™ Mobile Application Processor): An original Renesas Technology processor for mobile phone systems that is connected to a baseband LSI and performs dedicated processing of audio, video, and similar multimedia applications
SuperH is a trademark of Renesas Technology Corp.
2. ISDB-T (Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting - Terrestrial): A terrestrial digital broadcasting standard developed in Japan. Broadcasting for mobile devices such as mobile phones uses only one of the 13 ISDB-T segments, and is therefore known as one-segment (or One-Seg) broadcasting.
3. DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast for Handhelds): A mobile device version of the Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) standard developed in Europe
4. DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting): A digital TV broadcasting standard for mobile devices developed in South Korea. There are two versions: Terrestrial DMB (T-DMB), and Satellite DMB (S-DMB).
5. The SD memory card is a small memory card whose specification was originally formulated by 3C (Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Toshiba Corporation, and SanDisk Corporation) and has been progressively extended by the SDA (SD Card Association
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Mobile TV Solution
Use Your 3G Spectrum. Stay in Control. Keep More Revenue.
Mobile TV is one of the highest priority markets for mobile operators. Many, if not most, have announced initiatives to offer some sort of Mobile TV services. But all are very clear that a successful Mobile TV offering over WCDMA would completely consume the networks even with HSDPA upgrades, and is a very inefficient use of paired spectrum. And other broadcast Mobile TV technology choices have drawbacks for operators, presenting significant business model, frequency, and technology problems for UMTS operators.
But an all UMTS option is available that better positions operators to capitalize on the Mobile TV opportunity. Called TDtv, a multimedia broadcast and multicast service (MBMS), it allows UMTS operators to fully utilize their existing spectrum to offer subscribers attractive mobile TV and multimedia packages without impacting other voice and data 3G services - at a fraction of the price of other broadcast technologies. The technology's performance was recently validated in a trial by some of Europe's largest operators, including Orange, Vodafone, Telefonica, and 3UK.
Advantages include:
The Business Model Advantage
TDtv is designed to be a very low cost overlay network over existing spectrum. With a very low cost base station, and only a single base station controller required for up to 1000 Node Bs, the low capital expenditure needed to deploy TDtv presents an attractive long-term business case. Business models show that a 300kbps channel can be delivered for a fraction of the price of broadcast alternatives where operators need to buy new frequencies. Also, by using their own network, UMTS operators do not have to share revenues with the broadcasters.
The Performance Advantage
TDtv delivers up to 14 300kbps channels in an operator's existing 5MHz of unpaired 3G spectrum. And unlike current unicast mobile TV services that take additional network bandwidth for every subscriber using the service, TDtv leverages MBMS to allow an infinite number of customers to watch the same channel or use the same network bandwidth. Operators can also deliver digital audio or other IP data cast services to enhance their service offerings.
The Spectrum Advantage
Only TDtv allows UMTS operators to utilize existing unused spectrum to address the Mobile TV market. TDtv operates in the universal unpaired 3G spectrum bands that are available across Europe and Asia at 1900MHz and 2010MHz, which better enables roaming and creates a larger ecosystem for infrastructure equipment and end user devices. And only TDtv allows operators to show regulators and investors that they are using and getting a return on their 3G spectrum assets. The solution will also be made available to operators in the other frequency bands that IPWireless supports globally, including the 2.5GHz band. For operators that partner to get 10MHz of spectrum in any of these bands, the solution can deliver twice the number of channels.
The Control Advantage
Competitive solutions mean that the UMTS operators will have to partner with broadcasters for the actual delivery of the content. This would result in deeply diminished revenues and loss of control of the end user experience. TDtv allows operators to keep full control of end user experience and maximize revenue.
The WCDMA Integration Advantage
Being part of the 3GPP family of standards also means that TDtv has far better integration with WCDMA systems than other Mobile TV technologies. TDtv architecture is designed to seamlessly integrate with WCDMA on both the network and device side. This has cost, power, and size benefits over other broadcasting technologies. At the cell site, TDtv base stations can easily be co-sited. In the device, the technology can reuse the WCDMA RF chain. A TDtv chipset can be integrated into the WCDMA chipset, adding a very minimal cost to the device - estimated at less than $5 -- and resulting in smaller devices than other Mobile TV technology devices. At the core network level, the solution integrates with WCDMA resulting in easier billing and other back office integration.
The Mobility Advantage
Mobility is an important factor for adoption of Mobile TV, and there are serious questions as to whether mobile broadcasting technologies can support vehicular mobility. As a 3GPP standard, TDtv inherently supports handover and high mobility. UMTS TD-CDMA has recently demonstrated its ability to support mobility at up to speeds of 200 kmph, and will support up to 400 kmph in 2006, ensuring uninterrupted programming even on the majority of Europe's high-speed rail systems.
Understand on DVB-H
DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld) is a technical specification for bringing broadcast services to handheld receivers. DVB-H was formally adopted as ETSI standard EN 302 304 in November 2004. The DVB-H specification (EN 302 304) can be downloaded from the official DVB-H website. DVB-H is officially endorsed by the European Union. The major competitor of this technology is Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB).
Technical explanation
DVB-SH (satellite services to handheld devices) is a hybrid (satellite/terrestrial) standard derived from DVB-H and ETSI SDR. A similar architecture is already being used in S-DMB, XM Satellite Radio, Sirius Satellite Radio, MobaHo! but DVB-SH promises to be more powerful. The envisaged system incorporates a high power geostationary satellite for outdoor and light indoor coverage integrated with a terrestrial repeater (low power gap-filler) network for indoor coverage in urban areas.
Thales Alenia Space expects to deliver DVB-SH terrestrial repeaters in 2007. Eutelsat and SES ASTRA plan to launch an S-band satellite covering Europe in 2009. DVB-SH satellite services will become operational in 2009 but maybe DVB-SH operations will start earlier with terrestrial networks in certain regions of the world. Chip maker DiBcom is designing a chipset that will be compatible with the DVB-H standard working in the S-Band, Sagem is developing DVB-H phones that support both UHF and S-Band. It's an official DVB Project standard. The DVB Technical Module launched a Study Mission on SSP (Satellite Services to Portable Devices) and in June 2006 TM-SSP started to develop standards. The DVB Project approved the definitive standard in February 2007.
French Agence de l'innovation industrielle is now financing this effort through TVMSL, a project led by Alcatel-Lucent that plans to develop a DVB-SH standard suitable for hybrid satellite and terrestrial transmission. Other partners involved in TVMSL are Sagem, Alenia, RFS, Philips, DiBcom, TeamCast, UDcast, CNRS, INRIA, CEA-LETI.
(Source: from wikipedia)
Technical explanation
DVB-SH (satellite services to handheld devices) is a hybrid (satellite/terrestrial) standard derived from DVB-H and ETSI SDR. A similar architecture is already being used in S-DMB, XM Satellite Radio, Sirius Satellite Radio, MobaHo! but DVB-SH promises to be more powerful. The envisaged system incorporates a high power geostationary satellite for outdoor and light indoor coverage integrated with a terrestrial repeater (low power gap-filler) network for indoor coverage in urban areas.
Thales Alenia Space expects to deliver DVB-SH terrestrial repeaters in 2007. Eutelsat and SES ASTRA plan to launch an S-band satellite covering Europe in 2009. DVB-SH satellite services will become operational in 2009 but maybe DVB-SH operations will start earlier with terrestrial networks in certain regions of the world. Chip maker DiBcom is designing a chipset that will be compatible with the DVB-H standard working in the S-Band, Sagem is developing DVB-H phones that support both UHF and S-Band. It's an official DVB Project standard. The DVB Technical Module launched a Study Mission on SSP (Satellite Services to Portable Devices) and in June 2006 TM-SSP started to develop standards. The DVB Project approved the definitive standard in February 2007.
French Agence de l'innovation industrielle is now financing this effort through TVMSL, a project led by Alcatel-Lucent that plans to develop a DVB-SH standard suitable for hybrid satellite and terrestrial transmission. Other partners involved in TVMSL are Sagem, Alenia, RFS, Philips, DiBcom, TeamCast, UDcast, CNRS, INRIA, CEA-LETI.
(Source: from wikipedia)
Moble TV in US - 15 Million Mobile TV Users in the U.S. by 2009
Ten years ago, it was the Internet that threw the telecom, media and marketing worlds into chaos. Starting next year, it will be the mobile phone, according to a new report released today.
Internet research firm eMarketer forecasts that the number of US consumers who watch TV programming on mobile phones will rise to 15 million in 2009, up substantially from only 1.2 million this year.
"Mobile video and audio entertainment are bringing new energy to the US wireless business," says Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer Senior Analyst and author of the new "Mobile Entertainment: The Rise of the Very Small Screen" report. "There are real opportunities out there."
Major media, telecommunications and entertainment companies are placing big bets on content appearing on mobile phones. Entertainment content could offer mobile carriers a rich new revenue stream - and mobile phones could provide a compelling new platform for media companies and marketers.
"Mobile video will present some of the most compelling mobile entertainment marketing opportunities," says Ms. Williamson. "Just as online video advertising has taken off because of the way it blends video's high brand engagement with the Internet's interactive, tracking and targeting capabilities, so too will marketers be drawn to mobile video advertising."
But while the future looks promising, today's usage of mobile entertainment in the US is currently very minimal. M:Metrics data from October 2005 reveals that fewer than 10% of US mobile subscribers had used their phone's browser to get news and information, send a photo message or purchase a ringtone. Fewer than 5% had purchased wallpaper or a screen saver or downloaded a mobile game.
"Do US consumers want to be entertained by their mobile phone? That's the billion-dollar question," says Ms. Williamson. "Many US mobile phone users think their phone is just fine for talking, and that's about it. Plus, there are significant technology and standards barriers to overcome."
(source: http://www.mobiledia.com/news/41640.html)
Internet research firm eMarketer forecasts that the number of US consumers who watch TV programming on mobile phones will rise to 15 million in 2009, up substantially from only 1.2 million this year.
"Mobile video and audio entertainment are bringing new energy to the US wireless business," says Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer Senior Analyst and author of the new "Mobile Entertainment: The Rise of the Very Small Screen" report. "There are real opportunities out there."
Major media, telecommunications and entertainment companies are placing big bets on content appearing on mobile phones. Entertainment content could offer mobile carriers a rich new revenue stream - and mobile phones could provide a compelling new platform for media companies and marketers.
"Mobile video will present some of the most compelling mobile entertainment marketing opportunities," says Ms. Williamson. "Just as online video advertising has taken off because of the way it blends video's high brand engagement with the Internet's interactive, tracking and targeting capabilities, so too will marketers be drawn to mobile video advertising."
But while the future looks promising, today's usage of mobile entertainment in the US is currently very minimal. M:Metrics data from October 2005 reveals that fewer than 10% of US mobile subscribers had used their phone's browser to get news and information, send a photo message or purchase a ringtone. Fewer than 5% had purchased wallpaper or a screen saver or downloaded a mobile game.
"Do US consumers want to be entertained by their mobile phone? That's the billion-dollar question," says Ms. Williamson. "Many US mobile phone users think their phone is just fine for talking, and that's about it. Plus, there are significant technology and standards barriers to overcome."
(source: http://www.mobiledia.com/news/41640.html)
Mobile TV in UK
A full-scale UK trial of the technology that will let people watch TV directly on their mobiles has been launched.
The Arqiva and O2 trial with 400 people in Oxford will test the technology that lets mobiles receive direct TV signals, and people's desire to watch mobile TV.
Sixteen channels will be available to the triallists, including BBC One and Two, ITV 1 and 2, and Channel 4.
TV is touted as the next phase of mobile entertainment. Orange already offers some shows on its 3G network.
"Increasingly, new forms of content are making their way onto mobile devices - music, in particular, is already booming - and the latest buzz is about television," said Dave Williams, O2's chief technology officer.
"There will be many millions of mobile TV viewers worldwide by 2010."
O2 and Arqiva, which was previously NTL Broadcast, have joined with Nokia and terrestrial and satellite broadcasters for the six-month Oxford trial.
Testing times
Although 3G networks are currently used to watch some TV content on mobiles, the Oxford trial will test out the more complicated technology, called DVB-H, which stands for digital video broadcasting - handheld.
It is one of two formats or standards with which global broadcasters and the mobile industry have been experimenting across US, Germany, France, Finland, Sweden and other countries.
It is a standard which has been specifically developed for the broadcast of TV signals on mobiles and other handheld devices.
The technology lets mobiles, which have special requirements because of screen size and battery life, handle TV signals in real-time. It also allows broadcasters to send the same signals to multiple handsets.
Orange is due to take part in DVB-H trials of it in France at the beginning of October.
Triallists in Oxford will watch TV on the Nokia 7710 handset, a widescreen multimedia smartphone released earlier this year. It has the receiver in it to get the TV signals.
Shows such as Coronation Street, BBC News 24, CNN, MTV and CSI will be available. The trialists will be able to choose what they want to watch using an on-screen guide, through which they can search for shows.
Mark Selby, Nokia's vice president, multimedia, said the trial was an important step in the roll-out of mobile broadcast TV.
"Consumer reaction and usage patterns will help the broadcast and mobile industries understand what content viewers want to see on this exciting new technology," he said.
Orange, which launched its 3G mobile TV service in May, found that 36% watched its TV service during lunch and other breaks, as a short TV "snack".
It said 18% watched mobile TV while travelling, 12% while waiting for friends or queuing, and 10% watched it at home.
Mobile operators across Europe are keen to start using mobile TV technology in time for next year's football World Cup in Germany.
But there are still big issues to be ironed out.
"As an emerging industry, mobile TV will require a willingness of operators, regulators, broadcasters and handset suppliers to strike new deals," explained O2's Mr Williams.
New spectrum
"Regulators need to licence new spectrum, which will allow global economies to exist, broadcasters and publishers will need to tackle digital rights issues and operators develop workable revenue sharing partnerships."
Live TV services on mobiles are still in their infancy in most parts of the world and many in the industry are still unsure whether people will want to pay to watch TV on what are small screens.
There are also issues around battery life. DVB-H uses a technology called "time slicing" which means up to eight hours of TV can be watched on one battery charge.
Only the information needed for the channel being watched is sent to the phone to conserve power.
But DVB-H is in competition with the digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) standard.
The Japanese, South Koreans and Ericsson of Sweden back DMB because they say the technology drains batteries even less and it handles more frames a second.
Mobile companies are expected to have about 51 million users of mobile TV by 2009, making an estimated $6.6bn (£3.5bn) in revenue, according to technology consultancy Strategy Analytics.
South Korea's top mobile operator SK Telecom and its affiliate TU Media launched a satellite pay-TV service to mobile phones in May this year.
(Source :http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4271474.stm)
The Arqiva and O2 trial with 400 people in Oxford will test the technology that lets mobiles receive direct TV signals, and people's desire to watch mobile TV.
Sixteen channels will be available to the triallists, including BBC One and Two, ITV 1 and 2, and Channel 4.
TV is touted as the next phase of mobile entertainment. Orange already offers some shows on its 3G network.
"Increasingly, new forms of content are making their way onto mobile devices - music, in particular, is already booming - and the latest buzz is about television," said Dave Williams, O2's chief technology officer.
"There will be many millions of mobile TV viewers worldwide by 2010."
O2 and Arqiva, which was previously NTL Broadcast, have joined with Nokia and terrestrial and satellite broadcasters for the six-month Oxford trial.
Testing times
Although 3G networks are currently used to watch some TV content on mobiles, the Oxford trial will test out the more complicated technology, called DVB-H, which stands for digital video broadcasting - handheld.
It is one of two formats or standards with which global broadcasters and the mobile industry have been experimenting across US, Germany, France, Finland, Sweden and other countries.
It is a standard which has been specifically developed for the broadcast of TV signals on mobiles and other handheld devices.
The technology lets mobiles, which have special requirements because of screen size and battery life, handle TV signals in real-time. It also allows broadcasters to send the same signals to multiple handsets.
Orange is due to take part in DVB-H trials of it in France at the beginning of October.
Triallists in Oxford will watch TV on the Nokia 7710 handset, a widescreen multimedia smartphone released earlier this year. It has the receiver in it to get the TV signals.
Shows such as Coronation Street, BBC News 24, CNN, MTV and CSI will be available. The trialists will be able to choose what they want to watch using an on-screen guide, through which they can search for shows.
Mark Selby, Nokia's vice president, multimedia, said the trial was an important step in the roll-out of mobile broadcast TV.
"Consumer reaction and usage patterns will help the broadcast and mobile industries understand what content viewers want to see on this exciting new technology," he said.
Orange, which launched its 3G mobile TV service in May, found that 36% watched its TV service during lunch and other breaks, as a short TV "snack".
It said 18% watched mobile TV while travelling, 12% while waiting for friends or queuing, and 10% watched it at home.
Mobile operators across Europe are keen to start using mobile TV technology in time for next year's football World Cup in Germany.
But there are still big issues to be ironed out.
"As an emerging industry, mobile TV will require a willingness of operators, regulators, broadcasters and handset suppliers to strike new deals," explained O2's Mr Williams.
New spectrum
"Regulators need to licence new spectrum, which will allow global economies to exist, broadcasters and publishers will need to tackle digital rights issues and operators develop workable revenue sharing partnerships."
Live TV services on mobiles are still in their infancy in most parts of the world and many in the industry are still unsure whether people will want to pay to watch TV on what are small screens.
There are also issues around battery life. DVB-H uses a technology called "time slicing" which means up to eight hours of TV can be watched on one battery charge.
Only the information needed for the channel being watched is sent to the phone to conserve power.
But DVB-H is in competition with the digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) standard.
The Japanese, South Koreans and Ericsson of Sweden back DMB because they say the technology drains batteries even less and it handles more frames a second.
Mobile companies are expected to have about 51 million users of mobile TV by 2009, making an estimated $6.6bn (£3.5bn) in revenue, according to technology consultancy Strategy Analytics.
South Korea's top mobile operator SK Telecom and its affiliate TU Media launched a satellite pay-TV service to mobile phones in May this year.
(Source :http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4271474.stm)
Let's see Mobile TV in India
Was reading some articles on Mobile TV in India and thought they were mixing up things and raising hype-alarms. Therefore this post. I don’t claim to be an expert in this and welcome feedback from knowledgeable readers.
Strictly speaking Mobile TV refers to live TV transmitted through digital broadcasting technologies such as DVB-H and DMB. The broadcast network for digital mobile TV is different from the cellular networks. Therefore, 3G networks are not a pre-requisite for this type of mobile TV. In case of DVB-H, which is backed by Nokia and is emerging as the dominant standard, the following elements need to be in place for the service to take off.
1. Broadcasters transmitting using DVB-H
2. IPDC network with transmission sites
3. Supporting handsets like Nokia 92
The other form of Mobile TV is similar to video-on-demand. In this type of service, the operator works with content providers to host video clips which downloaded on demand by users. The delivery of these videos happen through the data channels of the cellular network. Therefore, the speed of the data networks become important and delay in introducing 3G networks does affect quality of service and its uptake. An on-demand video service would require atleast EDGE and preferably a WCDMA network.
Video-on-demand type of Mobile TV has to wait till EDGE/3G or EVDO networks are in place. The GPRS networks are not made for video and can barely cope up with mobile internet. Digital broadcast flavour of Mobile TV is still in its infancy worldwide. Only South Korea has recently introduced public services based on DMB while DVB-H trials have begun in some Europian countries.
Other technologies to keep an eye in this space include Qualcomm’s MediaFLO and TDtv.
Strictly speaking Mobile TV refers to live TV transmitted through digital broadcasting technologies such as DVB-H and DMB. The broadcast network for digital mobile TV is different from the cellular networks. Therefore, 3G networks are not a pre-requisite for this type of mobile TV. In case of DVB-H, which is backed by Nokia and is emerging as the dominant standard, the following elements need to be in place for the service to take off.
1. Broadcasters transmitting using DVB-H
2. IPDC network with transmission sites
3. Supporting handsets like Nokia 92
The other form of Mobile TV is similar to video-on-demand. In this type of service, the operator works with content providers to host video clips which downloaded on demand by users. The delivery of these videos happen through the data channels of the cellular network. Therefore, the speed of the data networks become important and delay in introducing 3G networks does affect quality of service and its uptake. An on-demand video service would require atleast EDGE and preferably a WCDMA network.
Video-on-demand type of Mobile TV has to wait till EDGE/3G or EVDO networks are in place. The GPRS networks are not made for video and can barely cope up with mobile internet. Digital broadcast flavour of Mobile TV is still in its infancy worldwide. Only South Korea has recently introduced public services based on DMB while DVB-H trials have begun in some Europian countries.
Other technologies to keep an eye in this space include Qualcomm’s MediaFLO and TDtv.
The Mobile TV Wars
The mobile TV shakeout has begun: Modeo, a subsidiary of cellular tower operator Crown Castle International (CCI), has shut down its one broadcast network in the New York City area, leaving the emerging business of delivering live TV programs to just a handful of players.
For months, Modeo had stubbornly clung to life as it searched for a carrier willing to share its network development costs and subscribe to its service. Having already lost out on a potential customer in Verizon Wireless, which signed on last year with a rival venture backed by Qualcomm, Modeo suffered a second major blow in early 2007 when AT&T (T) also decided to go with MediaFlo. Verizon (VZ) now offers MediaFlo's eight-channel service on cell phones in 32 markets, and AT&T plans to go live in the fall. "It's full steam ahead for us," says Gina Lombardi, president of MediaFlo USA.
Selling Spectrum
Other carriers, including Sprint Nextel (S), have reaffirmed their ties to MobiTV, a pioneer in this new market. MobiTV streams video channels over a carrier's cellular network instead of a separate, dedicated network of wireless towers like those planned by Modeo and being built by MediaFlo.
Modeo insisted there was still a business to be built in delivering TV to laptops, iPods, and other mobile devices. But with three of the nation's four national cell carriers divided between MediaFlo and MobiTV, there was truly little market opportunity left for Modeo.
So on July 23, Crown Castle announced that it had reached a deal with the investment firms Telecom Ventures and Columbia Capital to lease Modeo's spectrum licenses to use certain portions of the airwaves in markets around the country. The venture capital firms will pay $13 million a year for six years, after which they'll have the option of renewing the lease or buying the spectrum for $130 million.
For Crown Castle, which originally paid $13 million for the licenses, "it was a very profitable outcome," says Jay Brown, Crown Castle's treasurer. The company won't say, however, how much it invested in developing Modeo, building the New York network, or running that trial.
Subscribers Needed
Even with Modeo out of the way, it's not clear how easily the remaining competitors will recoup their investments in this unproven market. Though many have scoffed at the notion of squinting at videos on a tiny screen, cell-phone users are showing an appetite for mobile TV just as consumers have come to love watching scratchy amateur videos from Google's (GOOG) YouTube on their computers. By the end of March, the number of U.S. mobile subscribers watching video on their phones had more than doubled, to 8.4 million people, compared with 12 months earlier, according to the research firm Telephia. Still, that number represents just 3.5% of all U.S. wireless users, and the vast majority of them are downloading short prerecorded clips rather than watching live TV channels like MediaFlo's.
One key question is how much consumers will be willing to spend on mobile TV. While some users may spend $4 or $5 a month to download video clips to their cell phones, the more robust mobile TV services with live channels are typically priced at $10 to $20 a month. Kanishka Agarwal, an analyst at Telephia, estimates that mobile TV revenues totaled $146 million in the first quarter, approaching the $168 million generated by mobile video games. "The mobile video business is catching up to businesses that have been around a while," he says.
To make it a profitable business, though, those revenues will have to grow much higher to pay back the investment required to build a network like MediaFlo. By the end of 2007, Qualcomm (QCOM) may have nearly 300,000 MediaFlo subscribers through Verizon and AT&T, according to consultancy In-Stat. Making a hypothetical calculation, let's assume Qualcomm receives $10 a month per user (two-thirds of the fee Verizon collects from its MediaFlo subscribers), and that each of these customers pays for a full year. That would add up to just $36 million for the year.
By contrast, Qualcomm plans to spend $800 million just to build its nationwide network. And in terms of operating costs, Qualcomm reported July 25 that it spent $95 million in its just-ended quarter to deliver MediaFlo in just 32 of those planned markets. The bottom line: Getting a dedicated mobile TV network to pay for itself without a surge in subscribers will be tough.
Tough Competition
But for now, it appears that few wireless users are eager to pay for a mobile TV service. In June an In-Stat survey of some 1,000 U.S. households found that while 35% of the respondents were interested in free mobile video, fewer than 7% said they'd pay $15 a month. "People like those cool things, they just don't want to pay for them," sums up David Chamberlain, principal analyst with In-Stat. That means low-priced or free mobile video services that rely on ads to recoup their costs may prove more popular.
MediaFlo faces a cost disadvantage against some of those rivals. A service like MobiTV is cheaper for both carriers and users. While MediaFlo requires the purchase of special handsets that can pick up both cellular and TV broadcast signals—so far, Verizon Wireless only offers two—MobiTV works on some 175 cell-phone models. It also streams programs over the same network a carrier uses to connect wireless calls, cutting out the cost of a separate infrastructure. Initially, that also means MobiTV can offer wider coverage than does MediaFlo, a network that's still being built. On the downside, a cellular-based TV service could potentially clog a carrier's network if too many users are tuning in at the same time.
Cellular-based video services also can offer more TV channels and a wider selection of video downloads. Mywaves, introduced to Alltel (AT) subscribers on July 25, offers thousands of channels or recorded content to suit highly specific interests such as cooking shows on preparing spicy foods. The outfit, launched last December and already serving more than 1 million users, is adding new customers at a rate of 25,000 a day—a rate far greater than MediaFlo's—says Rajeev Raman, founder and CEO of mywaves. Alltel will only charge $3.99 a month for the service.
Testing the Water
Another source of competition for MediaFlo may be Internet video companies, which are just starting to dip their toes into the mobile TV waters. YouTube was introduced on Verizon Wireless' VCast service late last year and is now available on Apple's (AAPL) new iPhone device on the AT&T network. Also in July, YouTube teamed up with handset maker LG to design phones for viewing, shooting, and sharing user-generated videos.
There's also the possibility of new mobile video services being launched on the wireless spectrum that the government plans to auction next year. Google has said it might bid in the auction, a move that would enable it to potentially stream YouTube videos over its own network.
With so many competitive pressures percolating, industry insiders believe that Telecom Ventures and Columbia Capital won't seek to enter the mobile TV business with the Modeo spectrum. Columbia declined to comment, but the VC firms could be planning to use the spectrum to set up a wireless broadband network offering Web access, phone calls, and video services, suggests Scott Wills, president of Hiwire, a venture that just launched a mobile TV service trial in Las Vegas. Since Columbia's investments include satellite properties such as XM Satellite Radio (XMSR), Wills believes the firms may use the leased spectrum to enable XM or another satellite provider to deliver wireless broadband services.
Hiwire is conducting its mobile TV trial with T-Mobile USA, the one national cell carrier that hasn't yet put down its chips on mobile TV. Hiwire says it's simply trying to determine whether there's demand for the service—and a business model to support it. "The industry jargon is," says Wills, "Will the dog eat the dog food?"
(By Kharif is a reporter for BusinessWeek.com in Portland, Ore)
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2007/tc20070725_294703_page_2.htm
For months, Modeo had stubbornly clung to life as it searched for a carrier willing to share its network development costs and subscribe to its service. Having already lost out on a potential customer in Verizon Wireless, which signed on last year with a rival venture backed by Qualcomm, Modeo suffered a second major blow in early 2007 when AT&T (T) also decided to go with MediaFlo. Verizon (VZ) now offers MediaFlo's eight-channel service on cell phones in 32 markets, and AT&T plans to go live in the fall. "It's full steam ahead for us," says Gina Lombardi, president of MediaFlo USA.
Selling Spectrum
Other carriers, including Sprint Nextel (S), have reaffirmed their ties to MobiTV, a pioneer in this new market. MobiTV streams video channels over a carrier's cellular network instead of a separate, dedicated network of wireless towers like those planned by Modeo and being built by MediaFlo.
Modeo insisted there was still a business to be built in delivering TV to laptops, iPods, and other mobile devices. But with three of the nation's four national cell carriers divided between MediaFlo and MobiTV, there was truly little market opportunity left for Modeo.
So on July 23, Crown Castle announced that it had reached a deal with the investment firms Telecom Ventures and Columbia Capital to lease Modeo's spectrum licenses to use certain portions of the airwaves in markets around the country. The venture capital firms will pay $13 million a year for six years, after which they'll have the option of renewing the lease or buying the spectrum for $130 million.
For Crown Castle, which originally paid $13 million for the licenses, "it was a very profitable outcome," says Jay Brown, Crown Castle's treasurer. The company won't say, however, how much it invested in developing Modeo, building the New York network, or running that trial.
Subscribers Needed
Even with Modeo out of the way, it's not clear how easily the remaining competitors will recoup their investments in this unproven market. Though many have scoffed at the notion of squinting at videos on a tiny screen, cell-phone users are showing an appetite for mobile TV just as consumers have come to love watching scratchy amateur videos from Google's (GOOG) YouTube on their computers. By the end of March, the number of U.S. mobile subscribers watching video on their phones had more than doubled, to 8.4 million people, compared with 12 months earlier, according to the research firm Telephia. Still, that number represents just 3.5% of all U.S. wireless users, and the vast majority of them are downloading short prerecorded clips rather than watching live TV channels like MediaFlo's.
One key question is how much consumers will be willing to spend on mobile TV. While some users may spend $4 or $5 a month to download video clips to their cell phones, the more robust mobile TV services with live channels are typically priced at $10 to $20 a month. Kanishka Agarwal, an analyst at Telephia, estimates that mobile TV revenues totaled $146 million in the first quarter, approaching the $168 million generated by mobile video games. "The mobile video business is catching up to businesses that have been around a while," he says.
To make it a profitable business, though, those revenues will have to grow much higher to pay back the investment required to build a network like MediaFlo. By the end of 2007, Qualcomm (QCOM) may have nearly 300,000 MediaFlo subscribers through Verizon and AT&T, according to consultancy In-Stat. Making a hypothetical calculation, let's assume Qualcomm receives $10 a month per user (two-thirds of the fee Verizon collects from its MediaFlo subscribers), and that each of these customers pays for a full year. That would add up to just $36 million for the year.
By contrast, Qualcomm plans to spend $800 million just to build its nationwide network. And in terms of operating costs, Qualcomm reported July 25 that it spent $95 million in its just-ended quarter to deliver MediaFlo in just 32 of those planned markets. The bottom line: Getting a dedicated mobile TV network to pay for itself without a surge in subscribers will be tough.
Tough Competition
But for now, it appears that few wireless users are eager to pay for a mobile TV service. In June an In-Stat survey of some 1,000 U.S. households found that while 35% of the respondents were interested in free mobile video, fewer than 7% said they'd pay $15 a month. "People like those cool things, they just don't want to pay for them," sums up David Chamberlain, principal analyst with In-Stat. That means low-priced or free mobile video services that rely on ads to recoup their costs may prove more popular.
MediaFlo faces a cost disadvantage against some of those rivals. A service like MobiTV is cheaper for both carriers and users. While MediaFlo requires the purchase of special handsets that can pick up both cellular and TV broadcast signals—so far, Verizon Wireless only offers two—MobiTV works on some 175 cell-phone models. It also streams programs over the same network a carrier uses to connect wireless calls, cutting out the cost of a separate infrastructure. Initially, that also means MobiTV can offer wider coverage than does MediaFlo, a network that's still being built. On the downside, a cellular-based TV service could potentially clog a carrier's network if too many users are tuning in at the same time.
Cellular-based video services also can offer more TV channels and a wider selection of video downloads. Mywaves, introduced to Alltel (AT) subscribers on July 25, offers thousands of channels or recorded content to suit highly specific interests such as cooking shows on preparing spicy foods. The outfit, launched last December and already serving more than 1 million users, is adding new customers at a rate of 25,000 a day—a rate far greater than MediaFlo's—says Rajeev Raman, founder and CEO of mywaves. Alltel will only charge $3.99 a month for the service.
Testing the Water
Another source of competition for MediaFlo may be Internet video companies, which are just starting to dip their toes into the mobile TV waters. YouTube was introduced on Verizon Wireless' VCast service late last year and is now available on Apple's (AAPL) new iPhone device on the AT&T network. Also in July, YouTube teamed up with handset maker LG to design phones for viewing, shooting, and sharing user-generated videos.
There's also the possibility of new mobile video services being launched on the wireless spectrum that the government plans to auction next year. Google has said it might bid in the auction, a move that would enable it to potentially stream YouTube videos over its own network.
With so many competitive pressures percolating, industry insiders believe that Telecom Ventures and Columbia Capital won't seek to enter the mobile TV business with the Modeo spectrum. Columbia declined to comment, but the VC firms could be planning to use the spectrum to set up a wireless broadband network offering Web access, phone calls, and video services, suggests Scott Wills, president of Hiwire, a venture that just launched a mobile TV service trial in Las Vegas. Since Columbia's investments include satellite properties such as XM Satellite Radio (XMSR), Wills believes the firms may use the leased spectrum to enable XM or another satellite provider to deliver wireless broadband services.
Hiwire is conducting its mobile TV trial with T-Mobile USA, the one national cell carrier that hasn't yet put down its chips on mobile TV. Hiwire says it's simply trying to determine whether there's demand for the service—and a business model to support it. "The industry jargon is," says Wills, "Will the dog eat the dog food?"
(By Kharif is a reporter for BusinessWeek.com in Portland, Ore)
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2007/tc20070725_294703_page_2.htm
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