[opendtv] UK cellcos team for mobile TV trial

From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:07:41 -0500
Looks like IMB is to 3G as MBMS was to 2.5G. Why IMB would be successful when 
MBMS was not, I wouldn't know. But perhaps "success" has to be redefined. If 
the cellcos do that, mobile broadcast TV might succeed, as long as the air 
interface is designed to not get in the way of the two-way traffic.

Perhaps this is the key:

"There have been so many false dawns for mobile TV around the world that it is 
often treated as a failed idea, but where a viable free-to-air system, with 
good content, has been launched, it has been a huge success for consumers (as 
in Japan and Korea), even if it has not delivered huge revenues to anyone in 
the ecosystem."

You know, sort of like HDTV.

Maybe the cellcos prefer these MBMS or IMB approaches because it gives them 
control of the TV channels. Where direct reception of the broadcasters' signals 
would not. Or maybe they like the fact that they can keep tabs of how much each 
subscriber is watching with these techniques. The direct approach would save 
the cellcos that $10,000 per every three base stations, which seems like it 
could easily add up to something significant?

Bert

-----------------------------------------
http://www.rethink-wireless.com/2010/06/24/uk-cellcos-team-mobile-tv-trial.htm

UK cellcos team for mobile TV trial
Using IMB standard to broadcast content in underused TDD 3G spectrum
By CAROLINE GABRIEL

Published: 24 June, 2010

Mobile television has not been the 'killer app' some cellcos hoped for, but 
they continue to look for the best technology to offer broadcast to handsets, a 
trend that should be stimulated by the rise of video optimized smartphones with 
HD video and wide screens, like the Motorola Droid X and Samsung Galaxy S. The 
three main UK mobile operators, O2, Orange and Vodafone, have teamed up to test 
a mobile TV service based on the IMB (integrated mobile broadcast) standard, 
pioneered by IPWireless.

The IMB system allows broadcasts to be made over existing 3G spectrum, using 
the TDD frequencies that most European operators own, but have left fallow. The 
three carriers are working with IPWireless, Ericsson (the other main IMB 
proponent), and Streamezzo on a three-month trial in west London and the nearby 
town of Slough.

IMB is an updated standard for multicasting on cellular TDD signals, an 
approach that was previously addressed by the failed MBMS standard. UK cellcos 
have always been in the vanguard of running TV services in 3G bands, and 
carried out the first meaningful trials of MBMS too.

There have been so many false dawns for mobile TV around the world that it is 
often treated as a failed idea, but where a viable free-to-air system, with 
good content, has been launched, it has been a huge success for consumers (as 
in Japan and Korea), even if it has not delivered huge revenues to anyone in 
the ecosystem. And even today streaming TV services are often held back by 
cellular operators, afraid that they will saturate their networks with people 
using phones as portable TV viewers.

This is why IMB may be the answer - not requiring separate spectrum or 
technology like the DVB-H broadcast standard, but harnessing underused 
spectrum, already supported within 3G licenses for one-way or unpaired data 
delivery. The industry now claims all the kinks have been knocked out of the 
system so that the TDD signals will not interfere with existing cellular FDD 
signals.

The UK train will use the combined TDD spectrum (5MHz each) of O2, Vodafone and 
the Orange/T-Mobile combination. With up to 20MHz of spectrum, they could 
deliver between 60 and 80 broadcast TV channels, making it the most 
comprehensive mobile TV system in the world.

IP Wireless will provide the TDD transmitters for the trial, Ericsson will be 
the integrator, and French streaming specialist Streamezzo will manage the 
handset user experience.

The cost issues are fairly simple - a $10,000 transmitter needs to be added to 
one in every three base stations, and chips which pick up TDD signals, which 
also offer signal diversity, need to be added to handsets. IPWireless had been 
doing this in the form of a single $20 chipset, which has proved a price 
barrier to mass adoption by phonemakers. However, IPWireless told Rethink's 
Faultline: "Handsets will initially require a separate IMB chipset, but we 
expect handsets featuring a single integrated chipset to be commercially 
available in the future."
 
 
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[opendtv] UK cellcos team for mobile TV trial

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