LAS VEGAS-What do Intel Corp., Modeo L.L.C., Motorola Inc., Nokia Corp. and Texas Instruments Inc. all have in common? They are all eager to promote Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld, an open standard for broadcast digital TV reception on mobile devices.
The companies formed the Mobile DTV Alliance to jointly push DVB-H.
“The Mobile DTV Alliance provides an open ecosystem for the mobile digital TV marketplace, greatly increasing revenue opportunities, innovation and services to consumers,” said Yoram Solomon, director of strategic marketing and industry relations for TI’s Mobile Connectivity Solutions.
The alliance said DVB-H users will be able to receive live TV programming from the mobile TV function on their phone and also benefit from clipping services and interactive programming that would utilize the cellular network. In addition, the alliance points out that DVG-H represents revenue opportunities for operators while preserving their cellular network bandwidth for voice and other data services.
“Consumers are demanding more content, such as live TV, from their mobile devices, and open standards are key to delivering that content in a cost-effective way,” said Kevin Jones, director of business development for Intel’s Mobility Group. “DVB-H is a very effective way to deliver high-quality, broadcast digital TV to mobile users, and Intel is a member of the Mobile DTV Alliance to help promote the standard and availability of this technology.”
Last July, the Flo Forum, led by Qualcomm Inc. and its MediaFlo subsidiary, came to life as several companies lined up behind Qualcomm to jointly promote global standardization of the company’s proprietary Flo technology for multicasting broadcast-quality video. MediaFlo technology has support from handset vendors Kyocera Wireless Corp., LG Electronics Co. Ltd., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Sanyo Co. Ltd., Sharp Corp. and others.
Modeo announced plans to use Crown Castle International Corp.’s tower network and spectrum rights to launch live DVB-H mobile TV in the nation’s top 30 markets, including a launch in New York City this year.
In addition, Verizon Wireless recently announced plans to offer MediaFlo’s mobile TV service.
