FREMONT, Calif.—The FLO Forum said it approved a specification for its mobile TV network technology, a move that will allow equipment makers to build gear that will work on any FLO-based network. Thus, operators will be able to choose products from multiple vendors.
Designed to broadcast multimedia content to portable devices, the forum pointed out that Flo technology enables wireless operators to deliver news, entertainment and informational programming in clips and streaming video to millions of mobile users without taxing their current networks.
Backed largely by Qualcomm Inc., the forum explained that its Multiplex Subsystem-to-Transmit Station Interface, dubbed MTI, allows transmit stations from multiple vendors to be part of a single FLO broadcast network. However, transmit stations must be compliant with the MTI protocol to correctly broadcast a FLO waveform, the group said.
Kamil Grajski, president of the FLO Forum, said the new specification puts the group closer to achieving its goal of creating an interoperable ecosystem for FLO-based products.
The forum also noted that Verizon Wireless recently reiterated the carrier’s commitment to use FLO technology. During a meeting in Toronto, executives from Verizon Wireless outlined the carrier’s views about the evolution of video services within the Verizon Wireless network. In December 2005, Verizon Wireless announced that it was working toward a 2007 launch of multimedia services via Qualcomm’s MediaFLO network.
Qualcomm recently announced that its MediaFLO mobile TV network technology will be up and running in Japan sometime in 2008. The company has been pushing MediaFLO in Japan for months.
In December 2005, Qualcomm and KDDI Corp. established a joint-venture to explore broadcasting wireless video programming to subscribers of the Japanese operator. At the time, the companies said MediaFLO Japan Planning Inc. would examine licensing spectrum necessary to build a MediaFLO network in Japan. KDDI agreed to make an initial investment of $85,000 in the project.
Also in Japan, Japanese wireless carrier SoftBank said it would conduct a “technical study” of Qualcomm’s MediaFLO technology.
Elsewhere, Qualcomm is testing MediaFLO in Europe through an agreement announced in May with digital TV platform operator British Sky Broadcasting Inc. The two companies agreed to test MediaFLO in the United Kingdom this summer.
In the United States, Qualcomm is spending $800 million to build out its mobile TV infrastructure.
In other FLO Forum news, the group said it picked up 16 new members including Agilent Technologies, Inc., Anritsu Corp., Imagination Technologies Ltd. and Korea Electronics Technology Institute. The group now has 60 members.
