FREMONT, Calif.—The Flo Forum ratified technical specifications for devices, transmitters and test applications based on Qualcomm Inc.’s Flo technology standard for mobile TV. The group said the new specifications are companion documents to the previously ratified Flo Air Interface Specification submitted to the TIA standards body.
“The industry representatives on the test and certification committee have worked together to create a minimum performance specification for companies seeking to manufacture transmitters that can be used in a Flo mobile multimedia network,” stated David Glidden, director of TV strategy and mobile TV at Harris Corp.’s Broadcast Communications division. “This specification will help assure equipment interoperability and simplify the task of implementing a Flo network.”
Interestingly, Kamil Grajski, president of the Flo Forum, said the specifications are not proprietary. In fact, Grajski said as part of the group’s mission to drive globalization of Flo technology, it is allowing developers to freely access its Flo standards.
“We’re signaling that it’s less and less right to say that it’s proprietary,” Grajski commented.
In addition, Grajski noted that many of Flo Forum members, including Qualcomm, are developing technology for both Flo and DVB-H mobile TV standards.
The Flo standards group also welcomed nine new members into its organization, including Digital Fountain and KDDI Corp.
Last July, the Flo Forum 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. The group says it now has 33 members.
