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IPTV Technology Featured Article
February 22, 2008
Mobile TV Survey: Aricent
By Richard Grigonis, Executive Editor, IP Communications Group
Recently Yours Truly has become curious as to the many burgeoning developments regarding Mobile TV, and so a quick survey was dispatched forthwith to some companies developing and working in the space. The results of this survey will be appearing in this column in multiple parts over the next few days.
Below are the answers to my Mobile TV questions from Deepak Mehrota, Vice President of Mobile Terminal Solutions at Aricent which offers a large array of software and services that touch every point in the converging communications network (wireless, wireline, cable, and satellite), from consumer-facing devices to the underlying infrastructure.
Do you define Mobile TV to be broadcasting television to mobile handsets or mobile video-on-demand with content that includes TV clips? Or both?
Aricent has products and services that fall into both categories. For example our DVB-H Mobile TV product falls into the more traditional broadcast category, while we also provide the R&D services for Ortiva Wireless (News - Alert), which is optimized streaming of video-on-demand content to mobile handsets.
Why do you think Digital Video Broadcasting Handheld (DVB-H) is popular in Europe, while Qualcomm’s (News - Alert) MediaFLO dominates the American market? Is it simply because of Qualcomm’s influence in American 3G
technology, or is MediaFLO better? Should there be a single international Mobile TV standard?
technology, or is MediaFLO better? Should there be a single international Mobile TV standard?The issue of competing Mobile TV standards is not due to better technical functionality, but rather due to the major mobile phone manufacturers not being willing to put their future fate in the hands of a single company, namely QUALCOMM. So there are a number of competing standards, the proprietary MediaFLO, the standards-based DVB-H which has gained acceptance in Europe, and from Korea/Japan the Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) standard.
In an ideal world a single standard for Mobile TV would emerge, since this would benefit the majority of consumers; however, Aricent expects there will continue to be multiple regional Mobile TV standards.
Will WiMAX have an impact on the Mobile TV market? Or is it so much easier for mobile operators to continue to use the existing 3G infrastructure.
have an impact on the Mobile TV market? Or is it so much easier for mobile operators to continue to use the existing 3G infrastructure.The impact of WiMAX on Mobile TV will be greater in developing countries, where they are likely to skip over the 2G/3G cellular systems and go directly to Mobile WiMAX. In contrast the developed regions will generally favor building on their existing investment in 3G infrastructures.
on Mobile TV will be greater in developing countries, where they are likely to skip over the 2G/3G cellular systems and go directly to Mobile WiMAX. In contrast the developed regions will generally favor building on their existing investment in 3G infrastructures.Do you think “viral viewing” (videos sent to and by friends and family members) will continue to be more popular than watching content provided by a network operator?
The expansion of personal video services, such as YouTube, has encouraged the massive growth of “viral viewing,” providing content that is more closely matched to the personal interests of viewers than the generalized content from network operators. This seems to lend itself to the short-video format favored on the third screen (the mobile phone) and will remain more popular for the foreseeable future.
What do you see as the future of Aricent? The Mobile TV industry as a whole?
The Mobile TV industry will continue to grow, with the introduction of more commercial services, better mobile devices (such as the iPhone (News - Alert)) and content designed for the small mobile screen. We anticipate that Mobile TV will have to adopt tactics similar to Cable TV; there will be a number of “free” TV channels to attract consumers and additional premium channels once they are accustomed to the experience. Of course we cannot ignore the impact of adult entertainment, since that industry is often at the leading edge of commercializing new media.
Aricent’s role in the Mobile TV space will be to continue providing consultancy, development, and deployment services to equipment manufacturers, device manufacturers, and service providers. We will help consumers get the content they want with one click, optimize the network equipment to deliver the content, and assist the network providers in monetizing their services.
Richard Grigonis is Executive Editor of TMC’s (News - Alert) IP Communications Group. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
Communications Group. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers whitepapers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users.
Today’s featured White Paper (News - Alert) is titled VoIP Doesn’t Require Any Phone Equipment Investment, brought to you by Accessline.
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