Qualcomm Inc. may be closer to snaring a European deal for its MediaFlo mobile TV offering through a new agreement with digital TV platform operator British Sky Broadcasting Inc. The two companies agreed to test MediaFlo this summer in the United Kingdom. The companies said they plan to trial 10 channels of BSkyB content on a small number of MediaFlo devices provided by Qualcomm. BSkyB’s channels are available in about 10.8 million households across the U.K. through cable and digital TV. Qualcomm is spending close to $1 billion to build a MediaFlo network in the United States, and already Verizon Wireless has said it plans to use the network to offer mobile TV services to its subscribers. Qualcomm also said it is working with KDDI Corp. to explore the deployment of MediaFlo in Japan.
Nokia Corp. says it won a contract to supply its DVB-H mobile TV platform to Finnish radio and TV services distributor Digita Oy. The companies said Nokia’s Broadcast Solution, the MBS 3.0, will support the broadcasting of different types of digital content such as live TV, radio and video clips over DVB-H networks to mobile devices. Digita obtained a DVB-H network license earlier this year and said it plans to roll out mobile TV to 29 percent of the Finnish population by the end of this year. The company has plans to extend the network to cover the majority of Finns. Digita’s customers include TV and radio broadcasting companies, as well as mobile and broadband operators.
Mobile TV vendor MobiTV Inc. continued to expand its business options through an agreement with AT&T Inc. to sell mobile TV services to AT&T Wi-Fi users. “Television viewing has moved beyond the TV set and we’re making it easier for consumers to get great entertainment through AT&T broadband services, including AT&T Wi-Fi hot spots,” said Kieran Nolan, vice president of AT&T Broadband. The MobiTV service will be accessible from the AT&T Wi-Fi portal. Users will get access to MobiTV’s basic 15-channel line-up for $12 per month or $6 per 24-hour period. The company said it plans to expand the service with premium television channels. The service will be available at about 7,000 AT&T owned and operated Wi-Fi hot spots.
