If you have been following the articles in RF Report and TV Technology about broadcasting TV to cell phones, you know that DVB-H and QUALCOMM MediaFLO networks are getting most of the attention. IPWireless has an alternative. The IPWireless mobile TV solution is based on IPWireless' commercial UMTS TD-CDMA solution and the 3GPP Release and Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Standard (MBMS).
IPWireless said its system operates in the universal unpaired 3G bands at 1900 MHz and 2010 MHz available across Europe and Asia and will be made available to operators in other frequency bands, including the 2.5 GHz band.
The IPWireless TDtv system can deliver up to 50 channels of TV for cell phone screens or 15 high quality QVDA (340 x 240) channels in 5 MHz of unpaired spectrum. The system works by "broadcasting" and, the company notes, allows "an infinite number of customers to watch the same channel or use the same network bandwidth."
Alastair Brydon, CEO of Sound Partners, an analysis firm, commented, "Most discussion of mobile broadcasting technology has revolved around broadcast networks, such as DVB-H, DMB and MediaFLO. However, these have a number of disadvantages for mobile operators, including lack of licensed spectrum, the massive cost of building a new network and a potential loss of control of mobile TV services to broadcasters.+ He suggested that 3G MBMS standards-based technology, such as TDtv, would be able to provide an attractive broadcasting solution for mobile operators.
For more information on the technology, see the IPWireless news release IPWireless Launches TDtv, the Mobile TV Solution That Delivers Broadcast Performance in Existing 3GSpectrum".
