EMERYVILLE, Calif.-MobiTV Inc. and IPWireless Inc. announced they plan to jointly develop mobile TV delivery solutions for mobile operators, combining unicast technologies with TDtv multicasting.
The companies said TDtv is an ideal offering that is able to leverage the newly defined 3GPP Release 6 Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Service standard to allow an infinite number of subscribers to watch the same channel or use the same network bandwidth. In addition, the partners said they would co-develop solutions enabling operators to migrate subscribers in high-usage areas to TDtv utilizing existing 3G spectrum.
“We are committed to delivering the MobiTV service on any platform and across any network,” said Phillip Alvelda, chief executive officer of MobiTV. “Our partnership with IPWireless to develop a high-efficiency multicast solution that will utilize existing cellular infrastructure is a natural complement and extension to the growing reach of our mobile television and music services. These new network technologies will allow even more profitable delivery of our most popular stations in even the most crowded cities.”
TDtv is designed to operate in the universal unpaired 3G spectrum bands that are available across Europe and Asia at 1900MHz and 2010MHz. Backers note the technology allows UMTS operators to utilize their existing spectrum and base stations to offer subscribers attractive mobile TV and multimedia packages without impacting other voice and data 3G services.
Based on a successful trial phase, IPWireless said it expects commercial TDtv networks to be rolled out by mid 2007.
The companies said they plan to demonstrate the delivery of MobiTV over TDtv to handsets during the first half of 2006.
