28 Jun 10

Mobile firms to run broadcast tv trial

Orange, Vodafone and O2 have joined forces to trial a new broadcast technology which could enable users to more easily watch TV channels on their mobile phones.

The mobile operators want to explore ways to provide mobile broadcast services over the 3G spectrum without placing excessive load on their individual networks. The three-month trial, which starts in October in West London and Slough, will use the new Integrated Mobile Broadcast (IMB) technology, which was recently endorsed by the GSMA. Orange, Vodafone and O2 intend to explore ways to use IMB within part of the 3G spectrum known as the Time Division Duplex (TDD). The TDD, which is included in the 3G licences already owned by the three operators, has remained largely unused because of a lack of available technology to exploit it. However, the spectrum is available to over 150 mobile operators in 60 countries around the world covering more than 500m potential mobile TV subscribers.
 

The pilot will test the capabilities of IMB for delivering live video streams, along with offloading traffic from existing 3G networks via local storage of popular content. It is hoped that the technology could eventually provide a "compelling user experience at lower cost than conventional solutions". Various broadcasters have recently expanded into the mobile broadcast space, with Sky, Eurosport and ITV all launching streaming services of their main channels. Mobile also accounts for 5% of usage on BBC iPlayer, representing around 6m requests a month.