Mobile TV Updates from International Fora
Mobile World Congress 2009: A great Fare, but take with a pinch of Salt!
Feb 18, 2009
Mobile World Congress, the apex event of the year for mobile technologies is always looked at with excitement for a peek into the new technologies to follow and the roadmap for the ensuing year. The keynote based on the economic crisis appeared to provide a panacea for all the problems with Conway suggesting that the governments should look at the mobile Industry as a way out of this crisis. Not a surprising statement considering that the industry, at least in the last 5 years has been riding on an unprecedented boom.
The World Congress was clear in its message that while handset sales may fall the software and usage of services is set to rise. Rise? But how? Beyond the hype of LTE and 4G services, the Mobile World Congress is now forced to direct attention to the emerging spectrum shortages and seeking direct intervention of the Governments and EU towards allocating spectrum in the lower bands (meaning the 700 MHz TV spectrum becoming free as a result of the Digital dividend). The justification for such a move which was suggested was that Digital TV “does not need so many channels”. But it seemed to ignore the efforts of the body of broadcasters such as OMVC in the US which are now going ahead with the launch of “in-band mobile TV”, Music and Video services based on minor modifications to the ATSC transmissions to include a few channels of Mobile TV. By using just about 4 Mbps out of a total of 19.4 Mbps 4-5 Mobile Tv channels can be provided to millions of viewers on a broadcast basis. If the Governments were to go by the recommendations of the MWC in allocating the TV spectrum for mobile services then obviously thousands of Mobile Tv stations may not be able to take off. However this fact did not seem to weigh on the mind of the MWC when recommending such spectrum allocations. Mobile TV via ATSC broadcast provides to users a much superior and efficient broadcast mobile service against unicast streaming of Mobile video using 3G+ networks. The EU is no different in this regard with need for DVB-H spectrum.
The “mobile broadband” which the MWC seems to angle for in quest for better revenues is however better provided for by wireless and the recent WiMAX networks. The internet access via these networks is much more open, inexpensive and efficient. This is because it does not need to be “squeezed into” the archaic architecture of the GSM and 3G networks. 4G-LTE networks promise to correct this but at the cost of rolling out an entirely new infrastructure. In the times of economic difficulties, this is unlikely to happen on a large scale despite the hype and indeed some networks announcing plans for LTE. Hence the scramble to drive the existing networks better with more spectrum. There were many WiMAX products presented at the MWC, but WiMAX was described as a “sideshow to the event”.
Incidentally, WiMAX, another technology to provide mobile wireless broadband has also been a contender to the TV spectrum in lower bands. WiMAX despite over 400 networks successfully rolled out is presently being buffeted by strong winds of a pessimism under the onslaught of Mobile technologies. Sample this- in the 2.5 GHz and 2.3 GHz auctions which were held in Hongkong in Jan 2009 by the OFTA the only bids which came in were for the 2.5 Ghz-2.6 GHz band. There were no bidders for the 2.3 GHz band which is a prime band for mobile WiMAX with WiMAX forum certified products being available. Not only that, the only successful bids in the 2.5-2.6 GHz band the bidders were mobile companies ( China Mobile HK, CSL and Genius Brand) and have not hidden their intention to use the potential spectrum for LTE. This is despite the fact that LTE, a technology evolution path of 3GPP is still at least 2-3 years away. Such setbacks are likely to adversely affect the availability of broadband mobile services to a large number of users, albeit with lower ARPUs. History might be repeated in India as it enters the auctions of 3G and WiMAX portions of spectrum later in March / April 2009. With the Indian Govt and regulators having adopting an Ostrich like attitude believing that the WiMAX spectrum in the 2.3 and 2.5 Ghz bands would be used for growth of broadband wireless in the country, the reality will bite when the auctions are over with a probable repeat of the Hongkong results. Should they consider the clarion call of the MWC to further allot the spectrum in 700 MHz for LTE against the (yet to take off ) mobile and terrestrial broadcast spectrum in 700 MHz is a no brainer. But so are those who seem to be flexing their muscles for exactly such an action.
So enjoy the lights, glamour and action of the world congress, and the great fare, but with an added pinch of salt.
Mobile WIMAX at CES Las Vegas 2009
13 Jan 2009
The Consumer Electronics Show is always interesting for the exotic devices which find their way here. With WiMAX set to be one of the main wireless growth drivers in 2009, the show had a lot for those looking at new applications of WiMAX.
First, the demonstration of technology itself. Mobile WiMAX was demonstrated live using a “ WiMAX car” by Intel. This had been already done at Chicago, but for Vegas it was the first live one. Using WiMAX spectrum from Clearwire and base station equipment from Motorola, the car which was internally WiFi enabled used WiMAX for long haul connectivity. No innovative devices in the car- most worked off WiFi and demonstrated on-demand streaming and location based services. ( See Video Here).
But let’s talk about devices, which CES is all about. All eyes were on Clearwire, which had launched its services in Portland and Baltimore. Apart from the usual USB modems and PC cards, Clearwire demonstrated a WiFi Hot Spot generator using a WiFi router coupled with a WiMAX USB modem.
WiMAX enabled notebooks came from a number of vendors including Samsung, ASUS, Dell, Fujitsu and Panasonic. However there was some disappointing news with Nokia announcing the withdrawal of the Nokia 810 Mobile Internet device.In terms of devices, Motorola had its WiMAX/ WiFi integrated CPE ( only 802.11 b/g !).
However there was no dearth of cutting edge products which would enable devices in the next 6-12 months. This included the ComMAX™ CM1125 multimode mobile WiMAX/EDGE baseband processor from Comsys which was demonstrated using a prototype of their S370 Personal Internet Communicator working on both Mobile WiMAX and GSM networks. I like it because of its native support of WiMAX VoIP coupled with roaming support to GSM using IMS. This is the only practical way today to use WiMAX VoIP with traditional voice networks, both fixed line and wireless. The built in GPS is a bonus.
Top Ten Wireless Trends for 2009!
- WiMAX Capable Mobile Platforms to Emerge in 2009
Mobile WiMAX has seen considerable progress in 2008, with many countries worldwide having launched Mobile WiMAX networks. The rapid growth in Mobile subscribers and the need for higher bandwidth services will see a major move towards vendors providing platforms for operation in the 2.3 and 2.5 GHZ bands with LTE and Mobile WiMAX technologies. These platforms will include Mobile VoIP implementations.
- WiMAX and LTE to Continue as Two Prongs of Development
Even though Mobile WiMAX now has a stable architecture with certified products, LTE and WiMAX will continue to lead independent thursts of development, with LTE riding on the strength of 3GPP. Implementation of Femato-cells has achieved some momentum and this is expected to continue.
- Smartphones Likely to get Smarter
Smartphones have been operating in a stable environment of 3G/GSM/WiFi connectivity, a model which now needs to evolve to encompass new generation of wireless services with native support of applications such as Mobile VoIP, Multimedia based Mobile 2.0 services ( Presence,IM being examples) and multiple air interface support. The foundation of such a smartphone architecture has been unveiled by Nextwave® in its NW1100 WiMAX baseband mobile subscriber SoC (System on a Chip). The architecture supports not only multiple spectrum bands, roaming across multiple network types, but also support of WCS( wireless Communication Service) and EBS/BRS (Educational Broadband Service/Broadband Radio Service) bands in America. HTC T8290 4G Smartphone for Yota in Russia is an example.
- New Generation of Wireless Broadcast Solutions to Firmly Advance
Mobile Broadcasting using Wireless ( including 802.11n for indoor applications and 3G,Mobile WiMAX for outdoor) is likely to expand to include a range of mobile devices from cellphones to media players. The new devices will move towards a common core architecture encompassing mobile gaming, media players and transfer and full resolution web applications. The formalization of standards for terrestrial broadcasting to Mobiles (ATSC-M/H) in Dec 2008 is also expected this trend to get stronger.
- Spectrum Availability for Wireless Networks Set to Increase Dramatically
While the potential of Wireless applications has been well recognized, the spectrum for such networks had been lagging. A number of new frontiers have been opened by the wireless industry for a dramatic increase for availability in a number of additional bands ranging from the 700 MHZ UHF to 5 GHz encompassing the traditional WiMAX bands, lower extended C-band, WCS, BRS and other bands. A number of Spectrum auctions have already begun (including those in India and China the two largest mobile markets) which will lead to availability of WiMAX, Wireless and LTE spectrum for new network rollouts.
- Wireless Environment To get Formalized
Most companies have been using the wireless access including Mobile wireless access based on available services. With a greater availability of WiFi, WiMAX and Mobile services such as 3G,HSPA and EV-DO, the companies will move towards a better definition of usage of corporate applications over Wireless media, security architecture and Wireless value chain. They need to recognize the availability of media such as Mobile WiMAX e.g. XOHM as well as greater possibilities of new applications over the wireless media.
- Availability of Wireless Based Applications to Increase
The year 2008 has seen a number of wireless applications find greater acceptance such as the Amazon Kindle®, Apple TV etc. The trend is set to increase dramatically with new applications being available in the areas of wireless information systems, wireless advertising and marketing, wireless payment systems, location-based portals, and mobile trading and sales systems. In addition most enterprise application clients will upgrade to include mobile WiMAX and related technologies. These will include usage with multiple air interfaces.
- Wireless ARPUs to remain Flat in 2009
Wireless ARPUs are expected to remain flat through 2009 owing to flat unlimited usage rate plans. The ARPUs will however be available across a significantly rising user base. This will also encourage a range of applications to come to be used with wireless as a preferred medium.
- Islands of Wireless Growth will Diffuse Out
Wireless will have greater growth rates in areas unserved by Fiber for broadband access. The BRIC countries, all of which have taken major initiatives in WiMAX will be the largest drivers of wireless broadband growth.
- Location Based Services and Wireless will Integrate
Location based services will integrate with Wireless networks including WiFi and WiMAX to provide integrated 3D applications usable in outdoor or dense urban environments. The WiFi positioning systems developed by Broadcom are an indicator of the trend.
China Scrambles to Provide Mobile TV services during Olympics
Aug 09, 2008
The Grand opening ceremony of the China Olympics could only be seen by a very small number of Mobile customers as China scrambled to put together content and technology just before the inauguration of the games. China Mobile, the largest mobile company in China with nearly 400 million users made available Mobile TV over its 3G network with around 15 program channels. These were organized in different sections such as “ Live”, “ Star Events” and “ News” etc.
However the customers are being charged on a per MB basis rather than the usual charging methodology of flat user charge. The 3G network of China, based on the TD-SCDMA technology had been readied just in time for the event. In fact the tender for handsets was floated as late as July for the CMMB technology. In fact, as late as Dec 2007, the CEO of China Mobile had been reported to be seeking the standards for Mobile TV. The problem is that despite the growth of Mobile users the 3G licenses have not been issued and they are to be based on the TD-SCDMA technology, of which China will be the first major user.
The absence of a Broadcast technology available to view mobile TV programs is taking its toll on the reach and the viewership in the World’s largest mobile network. The other alternative which was made available was the analog TV, which many receivers are capable of receiving. Those having access to wireless internet e.g. with MP3 players were also able to view some streaming content.
Earlier, China had kept industry watchers on the edge as the slow progress on Mobile TV led many to wonder whether any Mobile TV service of any significance will be launched during Olympics. Trials had been launched by SARFT based on the DMB technology and the China Unicom, the other major player had launched its trials as well.
The plans of using Satellite based Mobile TV delivered through the CBMstar satellite to be launched jointly with Echostar had come a cropper earlier this year after it became known that the satellite would not be in place in time for the Olympics. SARFT had subsequently cancelled the contract for the satellite putting an end to countrywide Mobile TV services parallel to the S-DMB services in Korea.
It is uncanny how in World’s two largest markets, China and India, the 3G licenses have been delayed, when allocating such licenses could have generated revenues which would have been a measurable percentage of GDP. ( China has over 500 million mobile customers, while India has about 300 million). This shows that the type of Telecommunications Administrations and Regulators which are in place and their actions which have no bearing of how fast the customers would be able to receive advanced multimedia services.
After the FIFA world cup was telecast live across Europe and other regions, it was being taken for granted that any major sports event would now be telecast live to Mobile handsets.
It will not be out of place to mention that with the Olympics mobile rights having been given to China Mobile, Companies such as China Netcom had to relinquish their rights to provide mobile services during the 2008 Olympics.In any event its services were based on home grown standards such as Mc WiLL based on SCDMA, at least in the trials conducted.
Mobile TV shows Maturity at Broadcast Asia 2008
Rather than touting futuristic technologies, the Broadcast Asia Show at Singapore in June 2008 showed a very mature display of technologies, with many coming from the strength of recent commercial deployments.
MediaFLO, with its recent launch of Mobile TV service in USA ( AT&T) in May 2008 demonstrated its USB attachment which can potentially be used with any handset, PDA or laptop to make it a compatible receiver. Amongst the terrestrial broadcast Mobile Tv technologies, FLO has been one of the top two technologies to have demonstrated excellent field performance as well as a history of operating in commercial networks with paying customers. ( Verizon and AT&T).
The case with the other technologies i.e. DVB-H and DMB was also similar, though DMB was appearing to have been somewhat isolated, if the number of solution providers and products was any indication.
Satellite delivered mobile TV ( based on DVB or DMB technologies ) with terrestrial repeaters was being strongly positioned as a solution for quick and country wide deployment. Broadcast Network Systems (BNS) was one of the vendors offering products based on both DMB and DVB technologies together with the complete solution for applications.
With the impending large scale use of Mobile TV in the Olympics and the recent launches in Singapore ( Mio TV),Malaysia, Phillipines and India, the interest in the technology was high.
The case with the other technologies i.e. DVB-H and DMB was also similar, though DMB was appearing to have been somewhat isolated, if the number of solution providers and products was any indication.
Satellite delivered mobile TV ( based on DVB or DMB technologies ) with terrestrial repeaters was being strongly positioned as a solution for quick and country wide deployment. Broadcast Network Systems (BNS) was one of the vendors offering products based on both DMB and DVB technologies together with the complete solution for applications.
DVB-H was strong as expected with the EU endorsing the standard back in March 2008 and new recent launches based on the standard such as in Italy and Switzerland.
Focus on Content
However technology itself is now passé and the greater focus was on content for mobile networks featured in Interactive DME 2008. Sony with Mobile PIX channel and MTV have been well appreciated.
Mobile TV: Summing Up NAB 2008
NAB 2008, the largest broadcast event of the year did not disappoint this year with new products and technologies outlining the pace of the industry over the next two to three years. With the largest number of international attendees on record of about 30,000 and total attendance of over 140,000 the NAB is now about a complete showcase of the broadcast industry.
This year was very special as this was the last NAB before the complete digitalization sets in the industry by Feb. 2009. With the theme of the NAB 2008 being IPTV and streaming media technologies, the focus was on convergence products rather than those relating to the just terrestrial broadcasting. These included the Mobile TV, HD Radio and of course IPTV.
In the area of Mobile TV, all eyes were on the open mobile video coalition (OMVC), an association of over 800 broadcasters which was expected to finalize the new standard for mobile TV which could be used with the ATSC transmissions. The NAB last year ( NAB 2007) had already given a peek into possible new technologies such as ATSC- MPH ( mobile pedestrian handheld), ATSC A-VSB etc. which can be used with relatively inexpensive additions to the existing ATSC broadcasting stations. However the OMVC stopped short of declaring the new standard for Mobile TV. It has announced its intention of selecting one out of three technologies which will be uses by their members to transmit mobile TV along with the ATSC transmissions. The three technologies which will be finally evaluated include the ATSC-MPH ( Mobile Pedestrian Handheld) promoted by LG and Harris, A-VSB by Samsung and ATSC Mobile TV technology by Thomson and Micronas. The clear declaration of intent by the association of over 800 broadcasters in USA under the OMVC forum heralds a bright future for mobile TV. The stations will defacto transmit local content for mobile TV in addition to regular DTV ( ATSC) transmissions. This is expected to provide a uniform standard for the technology in USA and greatly increase penetration as well as subscriber base.
With Verizon already planning Mobile TV services using MediaFLO technology and AT&T expected to do so by May 2008, it is likely that almost all mobiles will progressively support reception of Mobile TV. 3G based Mobile TV services are also available ( e.g. Sprint TV, MobiTV & others). Content differentiation will be the key factor in driving each of these services.
However the fact that OMVC has not declared any one technology as the final one this year did not stop the product vendors from displaying a complete ecosystem of products around the new mobile TV technologies. Harris and LG electronics, which are supporting the MPH technologies had set up a mobile TV broadcast through the KVCW-DT broadcasting station. The technology demonstrated is based on IP datacasting and is supported by Udcast and Triveni digital. At the same time Samsung was demonstrating its A-VSB powered mobile broadcast TV. The A_VSB technology has the advantage that it does not need additional spectrum for mobile TV transmissions. The existing ATSC spectrum can be used to add-on the mobile TV services. The A-VSB initiative is supported by Samsung Electronics, MobiTV, Nokia Siemens Networks, Rohde & Schwarz and SES AMERICOM.
As expected the area of WiMAX TV, which is IPTV streamed over WiMAX networks attracted considerable attention as a future technology. UDcast, a company known for its IPTV, Mobile Tv products based on DVB-H and DVB-SH technologies has now unveiled its WiMAX TV product.
Earlier in March 2008, Nextwave had unveiled its WiMAX TV Platform called MXtv. Nextwave platform is based on the use of the multicast and broadcast feature of mobile WiMAX and can handle different types of multimedia content including video in QVGA or CIF resolution and can support 45 multicast channels in 10 MHz of WiMAX bandwidth.
With the imminent launch of XOHM and other mobile WiMAX services in US and other parts of the world, delivery of TV to mobiles using multicast and broadcast service(MBS) becomes an attractive proposition. WiMAX TV, which is based on multicasting of streaming mobile TV content has many potential advantages as it is independent of carriers which deliver the service, country and can be received over any WiMAX enabled handset, WiMAX notebook or other devices.
WiMAX uses the relatively inexpensive wireless network for delivery of multimedia content ( Video, music or pictures) and can provide speeds which are an order of magnitude higher as compared to cellular or 3G networks. Due to its high spectral efficiency coupled with quality of service features the content can be delivered in a multicast manner as compared to generating individual streams for each user. WiMAX is an open technology and effectively brings the entire internet in the mobile domain.
MobiTV™, the largest provider of Mobile TV services in the Americas today with over 4 million subscribers came in strong outlining its plan to introduce the open mobile alliance (OMA) Rich Media Environment. No doubt with most of the DTV stations transmitting content repurposed for mobiles via their ATSC transmitters, content aggregators such as MobiTV would stand to gain by content specially suited for mobiles and to increase the gaming and rich media environment.
The adaption of OMA-BCAST platform with the inclusion of new air interfaces based on ATSC A-VSB or MPH seem to be the way the industry is set to grow in the current year.
UDcast® Unveils WiMAX TV at NAB 2008
With its central theme of IPTV the NAB 2008 did not disappoint the visitors with new technologies on display. UDcast, a company known for its IPTV, Mobile Tv products based on DVB-H and DVB-SH technologies has now unveiled its WiMAX TV product.
Earlier in March 2008, Nextwave had unveiled its WiMAX TV Platform called MXtv. Nextwave platform is based on the use of the multicast and broadcast feature of mobile WiMAX and can handle different types of multimedia content including video in QVGA or CIF resolution and can support 45 multicast channels in 10 MHz of WiMAX bandwidth.
With the imminent launch of XOHM and other mobile WiMAX services in US and other parts of the world, delivery of TV to mobiles using multicast and broadcast service(MBS) becomes an attractive proposition. WiMAX TV, which is based on multicasting of streaming mobile TV content has many potential advantages as it is independent of carriers which deliver the service, country and can be received over any WiMAX enabled handset, WiMAX notebook or other devices.
WiMAX uses the relatively inexpensive wireless network for delivery of multimedia content ( Video, music or pictures) and can provide speeds which are an order of magnitude higher as compared to cellular or 3G networks. Due to its high spectral efficiency coupled with quality of service features the content can be delivered in a multicast manner as compared to generating individual streams for each user. WiMAX is an open technology and effectively brings the entire internet in the mobile domain.
OMVC Stops short of declaring the new standard for Mobile TV: NAB 2008
The Open Mobile Video Coalition, an industry association of over 800 broadcasters in the United States has announced its intention of selecting one out of three technologies which will be uses by their members to transmit mobile TV along with the ATSC transmissions. The three technologies which will be finally evaluated include the ATSC-MPH ( Mobile Pedestrian Handheld) promoted by LG and Harris, A-VSB by Samsung and ATSC Mobile TV technology by Rhode and Schwarz.
The clear declaration of intent by the association of over 800 broadcasters in USA under the OMVC forum heralds a bright future for mobile TV. The stations will defacto transmit local content for mobile TV in addition to regular DTV ( ATSC) transmissions. This is expected to provide a uniform standard for the technology in USA and greatly increase penetration as well as subscriber base.
With Verizon already planning Mobile TV services using MediaFLO technology and AT&T expected to do so by May 2008, it is likely that almost all mobiles will progressively support reception of Mobile TV. 3G based Mobile TV services are also available ( e.g. Sprint TV, MobiTV & others). Content differentiation will be the key factor in driving each of these services.
Mobile TV: What to expect at NAB2008?
Look out for Second generation products!
The NAB 2008 is the last industry forum before the Digitalization in Feb 2009. Undoubtedly most broadcasters are weighed down by the rigors of putting everything in place before that. The bug also seems to worrying other operators who are already digital (such as Echostar) who need to migrate the analog receivers used for turnaround to digital.
However terrestrial digitalization alone it does not stop the march of other technologies and the developments on the IPTV front are the most exciting. With more standardization in the industry under ATIS, better fiber optic and hybrid systems, the IPTV has been the fastest growing mode of delivery over the last year. It is no surprise therefore that IPTV has been selected as the major theme area in NAB2008.
Mobile TV industry has always been exciting for the broadcasters, if for nothing else than the sheer numbers of handsets and the growth they are exhibiting. With Some of the countries in Asia ( China and India growing at 8 million users a month), mobile TV opportunities are now addressing a target market of over 2 billion handsets of which over 300 million are smartphones which can receive mobile TV in one form or the other.
Hundreds of first generation Mobile TV products will be on display such as H.264 encoders, IPEs, Modulators and transmitters as well as encryption and DRM systems for protection of content.
The NAB 2008 now comes with Mobile TV second generation products such as video transcoders and transcasters ( From Enensys™). The transcoders ( a single 1RU Unit!) can take a DVB-S signal in standard definition and transcode it in DVB-H for transmission to Mobiles in QVGA or QCIF formats. Enensys has also unveiled its MFN to SFN adopters for large repeater sets not possible in standard ATSC transmissions or MFN based implementations lacking synchronization using standard timing references.
The year 2007 has seen the maturing and wide availability of HSDPA and EV-DO systems. Mobile Tv services can be provided using a much greater quality using these high speed radio systems and we expect to see a strong pitch to use these networks for delivery of mobile content,
After the NAB 2007 where interesting possibilities of ATSC standard being modified for carrying mobile TV were discussed, the players have been working backstage for bringing out the most viable products to be demonstrated at the NAB 2008 and we should get a good insight in the future of this technology for the Mobile TV market in the United States. With in-band mobile TV capabilities in ATSC systems, the technologies are certainly promising. By 2009, we should have local stations using ATSC transmissions also transmitting the Mobile TV signal on the same carrier. LG had demonstrated MPH products at the Mobile World Congress 2008 and it is also likely to feature in the NAB 2008. The MPH broadcast technology is now available from Harris. We expect the delivery of Mobile TV along with SDTV on the same ATSC carrier a reality by next year.
In the meantime, Mobile TV from Verizon (based on MediaFLO) has gone on stream and a service from AT&T (also based on FLO technology) has been announced to be launched in May 2008. NAB 2008 should provide a good preview of the new service.
In terms of content production for Mobiles also, the second generation of products are making a debut at the NAB 2008. One such product is the Mobile Portal and associated production tools which are being introduced by CloseVU™. The Mobile Portal is designed for mobile devices which access the portal using an internet or streaming access. The CloseVU™ product is based on Adobe Flash Player and Flash Lite 3 for Mobile. CloseVU provide a range of interactive elements suitable for mobile screens to be incorporated in the portal. CloseVU also has a range of “made-for-mobile” production tools.
A number of new handsets are expected to be showcased including many of those exhibited recently at the World Mobile Congress. This includes the LG DVB-H ( OMA-BCAST) phone KB620 and phones for FLO services.
The Mobile TV and Video Forum ( Conference ) is on Tuesday April 15 and will turn the spotlight on various facets of mobile TV including mobile advertising, multiple standards, re-purposing of content and in general the Mobile TV ecosystem. The NAB show will also witness the newly formed Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC) host a session focused on mobile television opportunities for local TV broadcasters. It is expected to garner support for the new ATSC based mobile TV standards, which have so far not found much favor with other mobile alliances.
With the theatrics normally associated with the launches, all in all it promises to be a very interesting show.
Mobile WiMAX: What to expect at NAB2008? Broadcast Mobile TV is not a blind alley for operators!
Though the over enthusiasm of some of the technology vendors nearly did it in, but the broadcast Mobile TV is far from dead. In fact it is set to be one of the most promising technologies driven by a number of factors.
First of all to dwell on the initial hiccups in the rollout of Mobile TV. The industry was widely split open by a number of standards ranging from DVB-H, DMB, MediaFLO and ISDB-T. As if this was not enough, the variations within standards were astounding ( Such as DVB-H CBMS and OMA-BCAST), so it was difficult for operators to get the ecosystem right. Countries such as China went on their own with StiMi and CMMB standards.The handset vendors now needed to develop network and operator specific handsets. The 3G technology, which was the common one on which mobile TV could be streamed fell way below the promised bit rates needed.
If it was any other industry, true, the operators would have shut shop. But Mobile industry is one where nearly 3 billion handsets are in existence and where 15 million users are being added per month in China and India alone. Multimedia revenues which are at relatively low levels today have a long way to rise.
Technologies such as MediaFLO in the US (Verizon and Shortly AT&T) and DVB-H in Europe and Asia have taken hold. At leat four satellites which will enable DVB-SH or STiMi are being launched. The ATSC technology is getting enhanced with in band capability of ATSC-MPH. Companies such as Sprint have ensured that their offerings ( Such as Sprint TV) shine with EV-Do handsets ( such as Samsung Instinct).
Second generation products in mobile TV industry have started appearing such as transcoders which can repurpose satellite or DTH content for mobiles, WiMAX for extension of IPTV wireless including multicast and devices for converting networks to SFN ( such as from Enensys). New handsets for mobile TV go much beyond the first generation handsets.
Mobile TV is something which is personal and important for users to keep in touch while on the move. It is not a trivial service. It may be that it may not follow the pattern of Linear TV, but its future is very bright.
Mobile Video Coming of Age!
CTIA Wireless April 2008
The reports coming in from different fora such as Mobile World Congress,CTIA and previews of NAB 2008 all indicate that Mobile Video, despite a lot of hiccups arising primarily because of multiple standards, is now coming to age. More and more channels meant to be streamed or broadcast to Mobile TV handsets are already including, or planning to include mobile TV in the near future. Being able to advertise on a Mobile Phone is a new opportunity which goes much beyond the simple broadcast advertising. Mobile TV is a much more personal medium and can in the medium term lead to targeted advertising.
With NAB 2008 expected to narrow down mobile TV broadcast standards using ATSC networks ( ATSC-MPH) the curtains on the mobile based services including Mobile TV, Radio and Podcasting may just be about to unravel an exciting future ahead.
NAB 2008 has IPTV as its theme technology
The NAB 2008 (11-18 April 2008), Las Vegas has selected IPTV as the theme for its forthcoming NAB show. With IPTV networks having picked up, interest is high on this " now mature" technology for TV. The delivery of IPTV over broadband wireless ( generally using WiMAX or WiBRO) is now clearly on the horizon. Mobile TV using WiBRO has recently been demonstrated on the Korea Telecom network in the Seoul Area.
Single Standard for Mobile TV to Take Centre stage at NAB 2008
After the EU recommendation of adopting a single standard for mobile TV ( In this case DVB-H) the NAB through a study conducted has arrived at the conclusion that a single standard for mobile TV is not only beneficial for the Mobile TV growth, but is critical in its progress. The NAB study has shown that the broadcasters could underutilize the advertising and revenue potential of Mobile TV by more that $50 million a month and the consequent company valuations by $200 Million a month. The projected revenues from Mobile TV services have been set at $ 2 Billion per year for Mobile digital TV with broadcasters share being $1.1 Billion a year.
The Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), an alliance of over 800 broadcasters has endorsed the recommendations of the study. It is now inevitable that with the new technologies recently demonstrated such as mobile pedestrian handheld( MPH) and advanced VSB technologies(A-VSB) , which are compatible with the ATSC DTV stations, there will be a strong alliance pressure to pin down to a single standard for mobile TV.
Irrespective of which technology is a winner, the fact remains that a single technology has significant advantages in customer reach as the handsets for the mobile TV service can have a common interface and thus targeting of much larger audiences would be possible irrespective of the operators. The number of Smart and multimedia phones which are TV capable is limited today and every effort at standardization goes a long way in how soon such services can become viable.
Mobile World Congress 2008 to Showcase Evolutionary Products
(Barcelona, Spain Feb 11-14, 2008)
The Mobile World Congress 2008 is set to showcase convergence products evolved as a result of a number of technologies coming together. While Mobile phones with WiFi and 3G access with GNA are common today, the new devices are expected to feature broadband wireless connectivity such as mobile WiMAX and applications based on it.
With WRC2007 having accepted OFDMA-TDD as one of the approved air interfaces under the IMT2000, the World Congress is expected to set the direction of the industry with the assimilation of the new technologies. Companies such as NextWave have already announced products o be demonstrated based on LTE as well as WiMAX technologies.
Nokia Showcases N96 DVB-H Phone at Mobile Congress 2008
In any discussion of 3G congress, the launch of new devices is always of considerable interest. One such showcased product was the Nokia N96 which is a 5Mp camera phone with a DVB-H tuner inbuilt for mobile TV reception. It is a S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 device which enables it to provide native support to Flash Lite 3. The phone is essentially a 3G phone with additional support for HSDPA. It also supports GSM and EDGE making it a true GSM evolved device and a World-use product. The phone supports a QVGA screen has WiFi b/g support. The mobile phone seems to have been designed for Video, Mobile TV and video based messaging applications. It has 16 GB of internal memory.
Indian regulator TRAI issues Draft Recommendations for Mobile TV Licensing in India
In a region characterized as the largest mobile TV market in the world, with Korea, Philippines, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and others having launched mobile TV services, the Indian regulator TRAI has now issued draft recommendations for licensing of mobile TV services. The draft recommendations come after a brief consultation process. India is the fastest growing cellular mobile market in the world with over 8 million users being added every month( nearly a 100 million a year at current pace) but is beset with serious policy issues of licensing, spectrum allocation and regulation. 3G spectrum is not yet allocated in the country and time is running out for many companies which target mobile multimedia services.
The TRAI has recommended a bidding process for licensing of mobile TV services, with a one time entry fee as being the sole criteria for the selection of bidders. Upto 74% foreign direct investment will be permitted in mobile TV companies. Technology neutrality has been permitted in the licenses; i.e. the licensees can roll out networks based on any of the commonly used technologies for mobile TV. Each successful bidder is to be allocated one spectrum slot of 8 MHz irrespective of technology.
The regulator has proposed to allow all mobile companies to start providing mobile TV services without any entry fee or any additional license fees. It has however not elaborated how these will be provided in the absence of allocation of 3G spectrum.
For the terrestrial transmission based mobile TV services, however a very severe regime has been proposed. Only those technologies are to be allowed which have a base of at least 100,000 users. This may be difficult to meet for many technologies, which have undergone trials but the networks are under launch.
The yearly license fees for such companies is to be 6% of gross revenues plus 5% of the highest bid for one time entry fee. As the license fees for entry can be very high, the yearly license fees is set at an unprecedented high scale. However mobile companies providing identical services need to pay no such license fees.
Mobile TV licenses have been offered separately for Terrestrial broadcast and Satellite based services. The roll out times provided are 1 year, otherwise the bidders need to agree to forego a performance guarantee of $5 million. ( For whole of India).
The regulator has chosen to be silent on how a satellite system can be coordinated and made operational within one year.
The present recommendations are in a draft form and the regulator will issue final recommendations after 10th Jan 2008. The government is then expected to come out with policy to regulate and issue licenses in the sector based on these policies.
Previous recommendations of the TRAI on digital terrestrial broadcasting issued in 2005 are yet to see the light of the day in the form of policy announcements for licensing.
Indian regulator to recommend auction for Mobile TV Sprectrum( 17 Dec 2007)
After a brief consultation process on Mobile TV, which attracted extraordinary interest,
the Indian regulator , TRAI is set to recommend an "auction process" for spectrum for mobile TV.It will also recommend technology neutrality i.e. the potential operators would be able to use any of the available technologies DVB-H, DMB-T or MediaFLO for providing the services.
It is noteworthy that the spectrum for 3G services in India has not yet been alloted so far and is also likely to follow the auction route.
What is surprising however that the Terrestrial broadcasting recommendations of the TRAI which have been with the Government since 2005 have yet to be announced as a licensing policy for terrestrial broadcast services.As mobile TV services and terrestrial broadcast services ( i.e DVB-T or ISDB-T) can be provided by using the same carrier, it is not clear how these are proposed to be treated seperately in the policy.
Auction of UHF spectrum, the first of its kind in India is expected to fetch very high prices. This could be an impediment to growth of mobile TV as an independent service, given the low handset base and revenue models in the short term.
For existing cellular operators also it is a dilema as to whether they should stick to the 3G spectrum which can well serve low user densities or also go in for terrestrial spectrum.
Updates from NAB 2007
Advanced VSB (A-VSB) demonstrated for ATSC transmitting stations
We had mentioned in the book (Chapter 5, Overview of Mobile TV Technologies) that the ATSC systems which use single carrier for modulation ( i.e. 8VSB) have severe limitations for carrying the Mobile TV channels as compared to OFDM based systems such as DVB-H or FLO. The ATSC systems also have limitations in forming Single frequency networks (SFNs) owing to the absence of synchronization timing information which could be used by adjacent transmitters.
OFDM based systems are highly resistant to multipath fading as experienced in Non-line of Sight (NLOS) and mobile handheld environments. The DVB-H technologies in fact take advantage of the structure of DVB-T to add on additional features for error correction and power saving in handsets. Using 4096 carriers (4K mode), for example, reduces the possibility of any significant Inter-symbol Interference. Also as detailed in Chapter 8 (DVB-H Technologies), the DVB-H standards have been designed for additional Forward Error Correction (FEC) and Multi-protocol Encapsulation (MPE) to provide error free transmissions in the mobile environment.
As the DTV transition is moving ahead strongly the ATSC is also adding on features to support mobile TV by some enhancements to the ATSC standard.
There were two approaches which were demonstrated at the NAB 2007 for supporting mobile TV and future incorporation in ATSC standards.
Advanced VSB (A-VSB)
The Advanced-VSB approach was demonstrated by Samsung in cooperation with Rhode and Schwarz and ATSC. The A-VSB attempts to address both the issues of Synchronization in Single frequency Networks (SFNs) and the high error rate in a typical handheld mobile environment due to sharp variations in signal strength from point to point as well as multipath propagation in NLOS environments. The issue of timing is addressed by adding a Supplementary Reference Sequence(SRS) in the transmitted signal.
This helps the receiver to stay locked in an NLOS environment characterized by severe frequency selective fading as well as mobile handheld environment where the variations in signal strength can cause occasional loss of received signal. The second mechanism to permit mobility is the feature of turbo coding which is in essence incorporation of high FEC so that the received signal can be reconstructed after removing errors in the received signal during the short periods of sever fading. The turbo coding ( for example half rate) is used to add additional error correcting bits which are used for error correction in the receiver. The A-VSB is designed to add Turbo coded streams within the main transmitted stream carrying DTV.
It was claimed that by using the SRS and Turbo coding the Synchronization problems between adjacent transmitters can be resolved while making the signal more robust for handheld reception. If ATSC transmitters are able to operate in SFNs as in the case of DVB-H or DVB-T, this will help improve the quality of reception as the signals of adjacent transmitters add to the received signal ( owing to being in phase) and make the reception by handhelds more robust.
Mobile Pedestrian Handheld (MPH™)
An alternative technology for enhancing the capabilities of ATSC transmitters for delivering TV to the mobiles was demonstrated by LG Electronics in cooperation with Harris Corporation and was termed as Mobile Pedestrian Handheld (MPH).
The MPH is based on the use of Enhanced VSB (E-VSB) modulation already approved by the ATSC. E-VSB primarily improves signal reception in far flung areas rather than in the urban areas as it still does not fully address the problem of multi-path propagation.
An advantage of E-VSB standard is the support for MPEG4 and Windows Media 9 (VC1) standards for advanced compression. These are better suited for Mobile TV than MPEG2 as detailed in Chapter 1 of the book. (Introduction to Digital Multimedia). There will need to be a wider availability of receivers for E-VSB for success of this technology.
ATSC-M/H standard
In the meantime the ATSC is working towards finalizing the ATSC-mobile/ handheld reception standard on the lines of the DVB-H enhancements to the DVB-T to enable the reception by handheld terminals.
The proposed ATSC-M/H standard allocates a part of the 19.39 Mbps Multiplex to carry the Mobile/ handheld signals without affecting the transmission to the standard or high definition DTV receivers. The modulation method (8-VSB) does not undergo any change retaining backward compatibility.
Importance of ATSC based standards for Mobile TV
The ATSC based standards are important for USA which has a rapid transition underway for DTV (To be completed by Feb 2009). Over 1500 stations are already in operation in the US. The availability of a technology which can be used by broadcasters to deliver broadcast signals directly to mobiles presents a very important opportunity. The ATSC based transmissions when introduced will compete with DVB-H technologies such as Modeo and Hi-Wire which are based on the utilization of wireless towers infrastructure rather than broadcast transmitters. ATSC based mobile transmissions have much greater potential for local content and can present an entirely new and niche segment for broadcasting.
Mobile WiMAX TV demonstrated on Ultra Mobile PCs
In Chapter 5 of the Book (Overview Mobile TV technologies) WiMAX based mobile TV has been described as one of the potential technologies for mobile TV with a high future potential. It is already available in the Korean Mobile Wimax band (WiBRO) but is yet to gather steam.
In the meantime MobiTV, one of the best aggregators of content for mobile TV with over 2 million customers has demonstrated Mobile TV based on Mobile WiMAX standards (IEEE 802.16e). The mobiTV demonstration is an implementation of Mobile TV using a Broadband Wireless Network based on 802.16e and is a first example of its kind. The broadband wireless delivery to mobile handhelds provides a service paralleling the multicast and unicast services provided over 3G networks.(Verizon , Sprint etc.).
TV over Mobile WiMAX can be delivered using either the unicast mode or Multicast mode. With client devices for Mobile WiMAX expected to be widely available in the future, the development portrays the recognition of a significant trend i.e. to bring a host of internet delivered services including YouTube™, Skype™, ITunes and Video on demand seamlessly to handheld devices. The trend addresses the new range of Internet enabled mobile devices, which today use Bluetooth or WiFi but will use Mobile WiMAX in the not too distant future. ( Refer to Section 5.18.2 of the book on Mobile TV for Mobile WiMAX).
The launch of new Internet enabled devices ( including but not necessarily cellphones) is to address the exploding need to share pictures, videos, music in a multilateral environment and not necessarily merely a broadcast network reception. The availability of Metropolitan Area Wireless networks based on Mobile WiMAX is likely to lead to new application, business models and internet devices.
The IEEE802.16e infrastructure for the trials at the NAB was provided by Runcom.
The extension of the unrestricted internet to the cellphones is likely to be prompted by the spectrum allocations for WiMAX which have been put on a fast track in most countries. The spectrum for Mobile TV on the other hand continues to be highly restricted and expansive as it competes for the same resources as voice in a 3G network.( Please see Chapter 10, Spectrum for Mobile TV services).
This page was last modified on 18 Feb 2009 06:37
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