MediaFLO expands in Malaysia, Taiwan

Qualcomm Inc. reached a deal with Maxis Communications Berhad and ASTRO All Asia Networks plc to conduct a technical trial of the San Diego-based company’s MediaFLO mobile broadcast TV technology in Malaysia.
Expected to begin in the fall, the trial will feature 25 live content channels provided by ASTRO delivered in an 8 megahertz UHF channel. The trial will also include clipcasting media, or short-form content that can be stored on the mobile device to view at a later time.
The 25-channel lineup dwarfs the eight-channel offering MediaFLO USA Inc. has already commercially launched in the United States. And it appears to be the first time MediaFLO has deployed any form of its clipcasting services. The company has talked about the technology as an evolutionary step toward a hybrid offering between live broadcast television and on-demand programming that, in addition to video, would include simple information such as stocks, weather and sports updates.
Malaysian telecommunications provider Maxis will be reviewing results of the trial in Kuala Lumpur as it looks to commercially deploy mobile broadcast TV services next year.
“Maxis is an innovative leader at the forefront of delivering new products and services to our customers,” CEO Jon Eddy Abdullah said. “Already, we offer more than 20 TV channels on 3G, and we see great mass market potential for a high-quality mobile TV broadcast technology such as MediaFLO. As such we are committed to offering mobile TV to the Malaysian market. Through this trial, we will assess the business and technical performance of MediaFLO and the promise of a compelling user experience with easy access and fast channel switching.”
While Qualcomm established subsidiary MediaFLO USA to make content deals and deliver programming to mobile handsets in the United States, it is pushing its international efforts by focusing solely on the technology, letting operators and other partners work out programming lineups and business models.
There’s been a significant push in Asia of late, particularly following the setback the European Commission dealt the company last month when it officially endorsed the competing Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld standard for mobile TV services. Although the commission has thus far held off on mandating DVB-H as a standard for broadcast mobile TV services, it has said it may choose to do so after looking at progress in the field next year.
“The commission is not choosing a winner. The market in Europe is already largely in favor of DVB-H. Unlike Austria, the commission is so far not mandating a single technology by legislation, but instead gives the market the clear signal that she should move voluntarily but quickly to a single standard,” the commission wrote on its Web site following the decision.
DVB-H is a technology backed by a number of European heavyweights including Nokia Corp.
Qualcomm is taking a similar approach to its trial in Taiwan.
“Rather than purchasing spectrum and establishing a subsidiary like MediaFLO USA in the United States, we are looking to partner with local companies in Taiwan who are in the best position to deploy mobile TV services based on MediaFLO,” a spokeswoman wrote in response to questions.
At an industry seminar in Taiwan last week, Qualcomm pushed for “the creation of a new entity-a MediaFLO Service Operator like MediaFLO USA-which would be directly responsible for acquiring spectrum, working with regulatory agencies, wireless operators and content providers to launch a nationwide MediaFLO service,” the spokeswoman said.
“The MFSO could take a variety of forms. It could be a joint venture with Qualcomm and another company or group of companies, or it could be a completely independent entity without any Qualcomm investment. Currently we are exploring all possible options in Taiwan,” she added.