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DVB-H Group Throws Down the Gauntlet
[January 23, 2006]

DVB-H Group Throws Down the Gauntlet


By ROBERT LIU
TMCnet Wireless and Technology Columnist
 
Living up to the hype that mobile TV is the new battleground for technology industry heavyweights, a new organization has formed to evangelize Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld (DVB-H) as the proposed multicast standard for broadcast digital TV on mobile devices.


 
Positioned directly at Qualcomm and its MediaFLO technology, the group called the Mobile DTV Alliance compromises of three long-time DVB-H development partners: Crown Castle’s wholly owned Mobile Media LLC division, which earlier this month was renamed “Modeo,” Nokia and Motorola. But, surprisingly, the group also includes the likes of Texas Instruments and Intel.

 
While Intel’s involvement in the European-based DVB group is well documented, interest has mainly stemmed in the area of home networking initiatives up until now. With companies like Intel and TI – each competitive with the other in its own right on several fronts – throwing their hefty weight behind the open procedure, industry-supported standard, the push could prove to be a major hurdle for Qualcomm, which is trying to win support from service providers for its proprietary Forward Only Link (FLO) technology.
 
"Consumers are demanding more content, such as live TV, from their mobile devices, and open procedure standards are key to delivering that content in a cost-effective way," said Kevin Jones, Director of Business Development for Intel's Mobility Group. "DVB-H is a very effective way to deliver high-quality, broadcast digital TV to mobile users, and Intel is a member of the Mobile DTV Alliance to help promote the standard and availability of this technology."
 
In a press release, the newly formed alliance said there are more than 10 DVB-H network trials that have either concluded or are currently underway around the globe, including Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States, and other countries. By 2007, most U.S. major markets are expected to have DVB-H infrastructure built out and ready for deployment.
 
“It is probably fair to say that FLO was developed as a response to DVB-H and is based on the know-how gained by analyzing the DVB-H technology,” Dr. Ulrich Reimers, a founder of the DVB project and chairman of its Technical Module, wrote in the most recent issue of the DVB-SCENE newsletter.
 
“FLO is the ‘new kid on the block.’ Documentation on the system is scarce. Performance figures quoted by Qualcomm indicate a performance similar to that of DVB-H with some advantages … But how do you verify the performance of a proprietary system?” Reimers added.
 
For more on Qualcomm and its FLO initiatives, be sure to check out the latest “News Analysis” column in the January issue of INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine, which will be available online shortly.
 
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Robert Liu is Executive Editor at TMCnet. Previously, he was Executive Editor at Jupitermedia and has also written for CNN, A&E, Dow Jones and Bloomberg. For more articles, please visit Robert Liu's columnist page.

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