ZTE picks Telegent for Free-to-Air Mobile TV handset chips
July 30, 2008
Telegent Systems announced that it has been selected by SHENZHEN ZTE MOBILE TELECOM CO. LTD. to provide its free-to-air mobile TV solution for selected ZTE mobile handsets sold worldwide. Under the agreement, Telegent will be the exclusive supplier for the free-to-air mobile TV feature for a period of two years.
“Operators worldwide view free-to-air mobile TV as a way to differentiate their service offerings and attract and retain subscribers,” said GSM department head of ZTE MOBILE TELECOM Corporation. “We selected Telegent to power the mobile TV feature in ZTE’s handsets because of Telegent’s proven performance in the global marketplace.”
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Ericsson’s HyC And Telecinco Launch Formula One Live Via Mobile TV In Spain
July 28, 2008
Spanish fans of Formula One can watch this season’s races live on their handsets thanks to HyC - part of the Ericsson group - in partnership with Boomerang TV and Spanish broadcast network Telecinco. The mobile TV service was launched in May. Under the terms of the agreement, Ericsson’s HyC supplies an end-to-end, scalable service including encoding, editing and transmission, which enables Boomerang TV and Telecinco to stream the Formula One races to mobile subscribers via live or scheduled repeat broadcast. HyC also provides related systems integration services.
Live streaming to the consumer is a key aspect of the agreement. Viewers can enjoy personalized coverage and choose between live streaming and downloading selected moments of the races which are recorded, archived, managed and published automatically in real time as part of the service.
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China’s Mobile TV Compound Growth Forecasted to Reach 225.5% During 2008-2012
July 22, 2008
CCID Consulting recently released its article on compound growth rate of the output in China’s broadcasting mobile TV will reach 225.5% during the period of 2008-2012.
With the drive of export and domestic demands, China’s mobile phone output continues to grow in 2007, reaches 554 million sets, with a growth rate of 25.4%. The volume of export is 322 million sets, which accounts for 58.2%. Currently, China’s global mobile phone manufacturing base is quite steady. Nokia, Motorola, Samsung and Sony Ericsson have transferred their capacities to China; because of this factor, the export volume of China’s mobile phone increases 26.2%. Meanwhile, China’s domestic mobile phone enterprises’ capacity increases are evident, especially ZTE, Huawei and K-Touch.
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LG launches HB620T DVB-T phone in Germany
June 2, 2008
by Jeff Orr
Editor, Mobile Broadband News
LG Electronics announced the launch of the first DVB-T phone in Germany, model HB620T. DVB-T stands for terrestrial digital video broadcast. DVB-T services are expected to provide mobile TV at no additional cost for programming. An existing service in some European countries, DVB-H or handheld digital video broadcast, is a paid mobile TV service in markets such as Finland, Italy, and the Netherlands.
The HB620T is a folding handset designed around a 2″ screen. The handset features: 7.2 Mbps HSDPA downloading, a full Internet browsing experience, an MP3 player and Bluetooth connectivity. LG also incorporates a noise-deadening processor called Mobile XD Engine to improves signal clarity.
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MediaFLO Powers In-Vehicle Mobile TV Demo at NAB 2008
April 14, 2008
Qualcomm Incorporated today unveiled the first-ever MediaFLO technology demonstration broadcast over the air to an in-vehicle entertainment system. The innovative mobile TV demonstration shows the flexibility of the MediaFLO platform as well as the exciting and unique delivery methods it can enable in a wide variety of scenarios.
The in-vehicle demonstration features a sport-utility vehicle outfitted with two rear headrest television screens with VGA resolution. The MediaFLO receiver, integrated in the rear center console, will receive live streaming television broadcasts on the MediaFLO platform at QVGA resolution. The center console controller allows users to launch the electronic channel guide, change channels and access optional features of the MediaFLO System.
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Qualcomm Demonstrates Innovative Products and Solutions That Build Excitement and Capture the Imagination of Global Consumers at CTIA Wireless 2008
April 1, 2008
Qualcomm Incorporated announced that during CTIA Wireless 2008 the Company will showcase a range of wireless innovations that are transforming and redefining the way people interact with their world. Qualcomm’s demonstrations at CTIA will include the MediaFLO mobile broadcast platform on mobile phones and alternative devices; Firethorn’s mobile wallet services; BREW solution, BrandXtend and mobile retailing solutions for operators; airlink technology demonstrations of HSPA+, EV-DO Rev. B and OFDMA; and prototypes of next-generation pocketable computing devices.
“Qualcomm is committed to serving the wireless industry with breakthrough technologies that are enabling the convergence of mobile communications and consumer electronics, and bringing the world’s most advanced and personal mobile devices and services to life,” said Jeff Jacobs, chief marketing officer for Qualcomm. “The Company’s inclusive approach to partnership is spurring the growth and development of the entire wireless value chain and bringing its wireless expertise to new markets, including the mobile Internet, mobile commerce, wireless healthcare and mobile TV.”
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AT&T stumps for Mobile TV debut in May
March 31, 2008
by Jeff Orr, Editor
Mobile Broadband News
AT&T continues to predict the availability of its Mobile TV service intended to compete with Verizon’s VCAST. The company announced plans to release the AT&T Mobile TV service in May. The previous prediction was January 2008.
The service will run on the MediaFLO USA network, a subsidiary of Qualcomm. MediaFLO is the same network beneath VCAST. AT&T plans to launch the service with two devices: LG’s Vu and Samsung’s Access.
The channel line-up for AT&T will consist of: CBS Mobile, Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile TV, Fox Mobile, MTV, NBC 2GO, NBC News2Go and Nickelodeon, in addition to two exclusive AT&T channels.
The company announced its plans to launch a mobile TV service in February 2007, but failed to meet Q4′2007 estimates. In late October, the operator delayed until “early 2008″.
While the two US operators have locked themselves into the MediaFLO network, Europe recently endorsed use of the DVB-H standard. Asia has had the greatest success with mobile TV, specifically in South Korea and Japan. The number of mobile TV subscribers is expected to grow to 462 million, according to a January study published by ABI Research.
EU Picks DVB-H Mobile TV Standard
March 19, 2008
By AOIFE WHITE – Associated Press
The European Union on Monday chose a mobile TV broadcast standard and suggested that its member governments now ask cell carriers to favor it.
EU commissioners chose DVB-H, or Digital Video Broadcasting for Handhelds, the most widely used mobile TV format in Europe, over rival standards such as Qualcomm Inc.’s MediaFLO and another known as DMB that is favored by Chinese and South Korean manufacturers.
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NextWave Wireless and Alcatel-Lucent Collaborate on WiMAX Broadcast Solution
March 16, 2008
NextWave Wireless Inc. announced that it has entered into a strategic agreement with Alcatel-Lucent to develop advanced WiMAX broadcast solutions for mobile operators worldwide. Under the Agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will integrate NextWave’s recently announced MXtv technology into their industry-leading WiMAX solutions portfolio, based on the 802.16e-2005 (Rev-e) standard. The two companies plan to perform a series of interoperability tests with Alcatel-Lucent’s commercial WiMAX infrastructure starting in the second quarter of 2008.
Designed to provide WiMAX mobile network operators with a cost-effective and spectrum-efficient solution to tap into the expanding market for mobile TV and broadcast services, MXtv provides fully-integrated broadcast and unicast of voice, data and rich media over each individual stream. To complement the inclusion of its MXtv technology into Alcatel-Lucent’s WiMAX network platform, NextWave’s MXtv technology has also been integrated into its low-power, Wave 2 compliant NW2000 series WiMAX subscriber device System-on-a-Chip (SoC). The NW2000 series SoC is currently being integrated into a wide range of devices with certain device availability planned for second half of 2008.
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NextWave Wireless and Huawei to Deliver End-to-End WiMAX Infrastructure Solutions Utilizing MXtv Mobile Broadcast Technology
March 10, 2008
NextWave Wireless Inc. and Huawei Technologies today announced a strategic partnership agreement to jointly develop and market advanced WiMAX broadcast solutions for mobile operators worldwide. The collaboration will bring WiMAX solutions to market more rapidly and cost-effectively in order to address the needs of the growing market for mobile TV and broadcast services.
Under the Agreement, Huawei will integrate NextWave’s MXtv Macro-Diversity Multicast and Broadcast technology into its industry-leading fourth-generation base station platform and ASN-GW network platforms, which fully conform to the 802.16e (WiMAX) air interface standard. For more information, please see today’s announcement “NextWave Wireless Announces MXtv, A Breakthrough Mobile TV and Advertising Platform for WiMAX Operators.” In addition, NextWave has integrated the technology into its low-power, Wave 2 compliant NW2000 WiMAX subscriber System-on-a-Chip (SoC). Early reference design development samples of the NW2000 are expected to be available in Q2 2008 with commercial sample availability expected in Q3 2008. The partnership between the two companies drives the development of higher performance and more cost-effective WiMAX-based mobile broadcast solutions.
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3G3M demos Mobile TV solutions for Middle East and North Africa
March 5, 2008
3G3M demonstrated its Mobile TV solutions providing the Middle East and North Africa with prime TV content during MWC 2008.
3G3M offers a range of premium international TV channels, Arabic language content provided by Pan Arabic Media companies such as Rotana and ART as well as national and local content. It also produces and distributes its own Arabic language edited content. This solution allows for streaming of live, pre-recorded and ‘video/TV on demand’ content to mobile phones.
Source: AVING.net
ILS Proton to Launch S2M Satellite for Mobile TV Service in Middle East & North Africa
March 4, 2008
International Launch Services (ILS) announced a contract with S2M to use a Proton Breeze M vehicle to launch the first dedicated mobile television satellite for the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region. The companies made the announcement during the Satellite 2008 industry conference in Washington, D.C.
The Proton Breeze M is Russia’s leading heavy-lift vehicle, which launches from facilities at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. ILS has exclusive rights to market the Proton rocket worldwide to commercial satellite operators. Khrunichev Space Center of Moscow, one of the cornerstones of the Russian space industry, manufactures the Proton and is in a partnership with ILS.
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Nokia Siemens Networks Lands Indonesia’s Global Mediacom for DVB-H Mobile TV Network
March 4, 2008
Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) will be delivering its largest-ever Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H) agreement in a contract with Global Mediacom designed to being a mobile TV network to Indonesia. The contract timetable looks towards the end of June this year as the deadline for broadcasting.
Global Mediacom stresses that it is the largest and only integrated media, broadcasting, entertainment and telecoms group in Indonesia. This is obviously one of the reasons why the contract will constitute NSN’s largest in the field of DVB-H.
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CNN and Ericsson Reveal Key Findings From Joint International Mobile TV Research Study
February 16, 2008
Mobile TV use is set to surge due to strong consumer demand, with the service ranked as the number one application users want on their phone, according to a consumer behavior study conducted by Ericsson and international news broadcaster, CNN. The results show more than a third (34%) of respondents ranking TV as the most in-demand application and almost half (44%) of the respondents poised to adopt mobile TV in the next two years.
Key findings also revealed that photo and video messaging look to be set for wide-scale adoption as consumer pricing and functionality improves. 57% of respondents use photo technology to send and receive images on a monthly basis, making it the most popular activity. This trend is mirrored by popularity of CNN International’s user-generated content service iReport, which launched in 2006. The service garnered 50,000 submissions, including mobile phone footage and images, from 189 countries worldwide in its first twelve months, driving the worldwide trend for ‘citizen journalism’ and giving audiences a deeper connection to network news.
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Max Telecom Completes First Phase of Nationwide WiMAX Rollout in Bulgaria Using Cisco WiMAX Technology and IP Next-Generation Network Architecture
February 16, 2008
Max Telecom announced it has completed the first phase of its WiMAX rollout in Bulgaria, using the Cisco Mobile WiMAX technology paired with its access and aggregation solutions. Max Telecom plans to expand coverage to 90 percent of Bulgaria’s population by the end of 2009, providing citizens with fast, highly secure mobile access and the latest services. This deployment represents Bulgaria’s first personal broadband mobile communications service with coverage now available in ten cities, including the capital city of Sofia, as well as two ski resorts across the country.
“Our goal is to develop a contemporary and highly efficient network that will provide high-speed mobile Internet access all across the country,” said Krassi Stoitcheff, chief executive officer, Max Telecom.
