Recently Yours Truly has become curious as to the many burgeoning developments regarding mobile TV, and so a quick survey was dispatched forthwith to some companies developing and working in the space. The results of this survey will be appearing in this column in multiple parts over the next few days.

 

Our first responder is actually a collaborative effort by two companies: MediaFLO USA and MediaFLO Technologies. Yours Truly originally approached MediaFLO USA but the ever-helpful Melinda Hutcheon, who handles public communications over there, reviewed the questions and felt the responses should jointly be provided by MediaFLO USA and another separate Qualcomm (News - Alert) division, MediaFLO Technologies, which is focused on commercializing the technology internationally and does not affect the U.S. side of the business.

 

MediaFLO USA itself is more of a media company and a service provider with the mission to deliver a uniquely compelling mobile entertainment experience. It wholesales FLO TV to domestic wireless carriers, who in turn provide it to consumers on a retail basis.

 

And so, without further ado:

 

 

Answer: MediaFLO USA defines mobile TV as streaming video delivered to mobile handsets. With FLO TV, just like using a TV remote control, users can flip from one channel to the next on their mobile phones to watch popular, full-length TV shows and live sports from content providers like CBS, CSTV, CBS News, Comedy Central, ESPN, FOX, FOX News, FOX Sports, MTV, NBC, Bravo, NBC Sports, NBC News, CNBC, MSNBC, NickToons and Nickelodeon. Content consists of premium, full-length programming, often simulcast with network television, and users can watch it on the go, wherever they are.

 

FLO TV’s underlying technology supports approximately 20 linear channels 24/7. The technology also supports audio channels. MediaFLO USA considers VOD and clips to be add-on services—a complement to the true mobile TV experience. Since these add-on services are delivered via the unicast 3G network (which means splash screens, buffering and progress bars) versus a dedicated, multicast network such as MediaFLO USA’s network, the viewing experience is not nearly as compelling as that of true mobile TV.

 

 

Answer: Qualcomm believes that a market-led approach is vital to the successful long-term development of commercial mobile TV services worldwide. Technology neutrality and an open standards policy is vital because it is the market that should ultimately decide which technologies are right for each market or organization that wishes to develop a mobile TV broadcast business. Each country has its own unique requirements and market conditions—mobile operators and broadcasters need the flexibility to develop different technologies and different business models.

 

In the US, Qualcomm had a unique opportunity to help jumpstart the mobile TV industry. We established a mobile TV service operator — MediaFLO USA, purchased spectrum, aggregated content, and built a mobile broadcast network. Verizon Wireless and AT&T, which have chosen MediaFLO Technologies as their mobile TV platform, believe it to be a superior technology that is best suited for their respective businesses.

 

In Europe, DVB-H has had a slight head start and has benefited from the misconception that choosing DVB-T as the digital terrestrial standard automatically means DVB-H should be the de facto mobile TV standard in a given country. In fact, this is not the case and these decisions are not interdependent. Fortunately, the European Commission has not mandated DVB-H technology but rather upheld a technology neutral position. Therefore, MediaFLO Technologies remains very committed to pursuing mobile TV deployments in the region with the help of our partners.

 

Mobile TV is still a nascent, emerging market and there are no clear “winners” in terms of technology standards. Multiple standards can co-exist and competition is good for the industry. However, in head to head comparisons of MediaFLO Technologies and DVB-H conducted by third parties in Europe, MediaFLO Technologies was proven to support approximately double the channel capacity for revenue generating services (video, audio, data and interactive applications) compared to DVB-H. This capacity advantage, combined with a superior user experience (longer battery life, faster channel changing times, better video performance), equates to a compelling MediaFLO mobile TV offering that benefits both consumers and industry stakeholders.

 

MediaFLO is an open global standard, with five published Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) specifications, and is an ITU-R recommended mobile broadcast technology. In addition, MediaFLO Technologies is in the course of approval at ETSI (News - Alert), the European Telecommunications Standards body.

 

 

Answer: There is much speculation about how WiMAX will affect mobile TV. Therefore it is important to clarify some key differences between MediaFLO Technologies and WiMAX (News - Alert), as each were intended to solve different technology challenges.

 

MediaFLO Technologies is a multicast technology designed explicitly for mobile broadcasting.

 

• WiMAX is a unicast technology designed for wireless broadband access services not for broadcast.

 

• WiMAX and MediaFLO are ideally suited for different applications, but could complement one another. For example, WiMAX could be used for IP connectivity required to support interactive applications on a MediaFLO-enabled device.

 

• While WiMAX may provide a higher bandwidth, it doesn’t solve the network capacity issues inherent with the unicast delivery of content.

 

• MediaFLO Technologies is more spectrally-efficient than WiMAX…

 

• WiMAX requires more spectrum to deliver the same number of channels as a MediaFLO network for the same carrier to noise ratio (C/N).

 

• Buying more spectrum to solve the performance shortcomings of WiMAX is an expensive option

 

• WiMAX efficiency is even lower in a mobile environment

 

MediaFLO Technologies offers superior mobile reception…

 

• MediaFLO was invented for mobility. Support for low power consumption, fast channel-switching time, and high quality audio, video and data streams all factor into an optimal user experience.

 

• WiMAX was originally designed without a mobility component.

 

MediaFLO Technologies are more cost-effective to deploy…

 

• WiMAX is more expensive to build out than a MediaFLO network, while not offering any performance advantages.

 

• While WiMAX proponents claim that broadcast services can be added with a software upgrade to existing networks, offering broadcast services comparable to MediaFLO requires an additional RF carrier which significantly raises the required network capital expenses.

 

 

Answer: Mobile TV is in the early stages. As is the case with any new medium, consumers are still exploring what is possible from mobile TV and learning what they like and don’t like when it comes to their mobile TV experience. Viral viewing through YouTube (News - Alert) and social networking/online communities (Facebook, MySpace) is the big buzz right now, but ultimately we believe that mobile TV will gravitate toward a combination of both viral and network viewing.

 

 

Answer: MediaFLO USA’s focus for the future remains the same: to continue to provide content and programming from the world’s best-known entertainment brands, to support our carrier partners, and to broaden and deepen coverage for our FLO TV service. MediaFLO USA’s goal is to drive demand for the service by offering exciting, compelling programming, adding to our content line-up, offering the FLO TV service through more carrier partners and continuing to lead the mobile TV industry by providing a superior user experience.

 

When it comes to the industry as a whole, we have seen an explosion in demand for multimedia-capable, multi-functional mobile devices — and the iPhone in particular. This demonstrates quite clearly that consumers are hungry for advanced functionality on their cell phones. This is great news for MediaFLO USA. In addition, our research shows that demand for TV programming continues to increase, and FLO TV extends that quality TV experience into pockets and purses for the first time. Soon enough, mobile users will begin to expect the quality mobile TV experience FLO TV provides on every mobile device.