Mobile TV Standards

In this chapter I provide a general view of which standards are currenlty using Mobile TV providers. Standardisation in that area according to the literature is fundamental to obtain a critical mass (operators goal). In next chapters I will define this standards in more detail and discuss their strong/weak points and future path.

According to the literature is important to distinguish between direct users, parties that read the standard to apply it, and indirect users, parties that have a stake in the application of the standard. In the Mobile TV industry that is complex because many actors are involved in different ways but I can say that mobile phone manufacturers are both indirect and direct users, because they develop and in some casese they just apply existing standards. Mobile Phone operators in most of the cases are also both indirect, apply existing standards to their infrastructure, and direct users, collaborate in the design and testing of the standards.

Most of the standards I will discuss are going to be describtive standards that describe a detailed solution to deliver TV to mobile devices. Most of the standards are the result of the collaboration and efforts off different parties that joint efforts.

Mobile video and TV content is a reality on existing 2.5G and 3G infrastructures, in downloading and streaming modes. However to cover mass-market, 3G has an overlay access network not designed and optimized to deliver large amounts of data to multiple receivers, from a technical an cost viewpoint. A single UMTS cell supports only a small number of simultunaneous, high-bit rate unicast multimedia sessions, typically four 256 kbit/s streams (Alcatel).

This capacity was improve with the planned evolution of UMTS, namely High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), that bring exceptional capacity to unicast. HSPDA can extend the bit rates to 10 Mbps or even grater on 5-MHz 3G networks (Kumar, 2007). In January 2009 HSDPA networks are commercially operating in 105 countries (GSA).

Work is already on for even higher data rate throughputs through 3GPP initiatives such as UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Node Long Term Evolution (3G LTE) (Kumar, 2007).

An alternative approach is deliver TV services is via a broadcast network. There are three main radio technology families for delivering broadcast content to mobile handset terminals:

· In-band cellular broadcast techniques suchas as the Multicast Services and Multinedia Services designed to overcome the actual limitation of 3G networks, when delivering live channels. MBMS is an extension to UMTS, and use multicast users to broadcast content rather than using one-to-one unicast sessions, which are limited by the capacity of the mobile network. (Kumar, 2007) (Alcatel)

· Terrestrial digital broadcast networks and extensions, are an important class, because of the high power terrestrial transmitters con provide and reach small mobile devices, with small antennas and indoor areas. Those are the main technologies using terrestrial transmission:
- Digital Video Broadcast transmission (DVB-H), based on DVB-T standards (Alcatel) .
- Terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (T-DMB), based on T-DAB standards Media Forward Link Only (MediaFlo), is a solution that improves DVB-H and is propertary of Qualcomm (US) (Kumar, 2007).
- ISDB-T is the Japanese digital television and allows HDTV as well as reception on small handsets. (Alcatel)

· Hybrid Satellite/Terrestrial systems is the combination of terrestrial and satellite systems to distribute Mobile TV. Such as S-DMB from SKT in Korea, MobaHo! From MBCO in Japan, both systems use the MBSAT satellite and the DVB-SH, satellite services to handhelds (Alcatel).

The following map (Figure 1) shows which standards are being used in each country:

Figure 1: Mobile TV standards geographical distribution (GSA)

It has been a massive job for the industry to come together and agree on standards that are being used as a common platform for delivering mobile TV services. The standards may differ slightly based on technology, but the extent of agreement that has been achieved in a time frame as short as a decade reflects a new life cycle of technology and products (Kumar, 2007).

To achieve this was necessary that countless group worked together. From chip manufacturers to operating systems and multimedia application software designers, handset manufacturers, software developers, the TV broadcast community, 3G mobile operators, and satellite TV broadcast operators, among the hundreds of stakeholders involver. It also involved the content generation industry, that generates audio and video content for the mobiles (Kumar, 2007).

The following Figure 2(Kumar, 2007) shows the current Mobile TV standards in the market:

Figure 2: Mobile TV technologies and standards

References:

- Alcatel. (n.d.). Alcatel White Paper. Retrieved 5 2009, 20, from Unlimited Mobile TV for the Mass Market: http://www1.alcatel-lucent.com/com/en/appcontent/apl/S0206-MOBILE_TV-EN_tcm172-641791635.pdf?sess=e52f19db7d6cca388337e9f470a228fa
- GSA. (n.d.). Retrieved 5 25, 2009, from GSA January 2009 Market Update Shows 3G Evolution Steps Confirmed by Multiple Operators for HSPA+, LTE and EDGE Evolution: http://www.gsacom.com/news/gsa_261.php4
- Kumar, A. (2007). Mobile TV: DVB-H, DMB, 3G Systems and Rich Media Applications . Fucal Press Media Technoly Professional.