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Broadcasting to the mobile masses
The Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Services (MBMS) standard is one more reason 3G operators are at an advantage for delivering mobile TV services. In the long run a combination of current 3G services and broadcast technologies like MBMS and DVB-H will be used to deliver to a mass market.
October 12, 2006
Vodafone's recent announcement that revenues from its 3G-based mobile-TV services had exceeded those from ringtones has silenced many of the critics. The market for mobile TV is still in its infancy, but new network capabilities, including the ability to broadcast to mass-market audiences, are expected to help it grow significantly.
Analysys Research predicts that by 2011, nearly 200 million subscribers around the globe will tune into TV or video on their mobile handsets, a figure that will represent about EUR 16.9 billion in revenue.
Mobile TV includes on-demand services, where users decide what to watch and when they want to watch it, as well as scheduled programming similar to that which is broadcasted to stationary television sets today.
Existing 3G networks are well-suited to deliver scheduled mobile-TV programming using point-to-point streaming services, also known as Unicast, as well as on-demand mobile-TV services. The addition of broadcast mobile-TV enables the most popular programming to be viewed by an almost unlimited audience, even if they are simultaneously watching the same program in the same geographic area.
Advances in 3G mobile TV
There are several standards to choose from for broadcasting mobile TV. Per Nordlöf, director of Product Strategy and Portfolio Management at Ericsson, says: "MBMS (the Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Services standard) will be used to deliver the most popular channels to an unlimited number of users in an operator's network." Other broadcast technologies, such as DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld), require new network infrastructure to be built and have limited access to spectrum while analog terrestrial TV remains in service.
The mobile-TV capabilities of 3G are continually improving. With the arrival of MBMS, which is only an additional software upgrade to existing 3G networks, operators will be able to use the same infrastructure and spectrum to deliver broadcast mobile TV.
"Advancements in 3G include High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), which significantly increases the capacity and bit rates of 3G services," Nordlöf says. "New 3G handsets with better screen resolution (QVGA) and better video programming (H.264) enable much higher video and audio quality. Even without MBMS, these developments give 3G operators a clear advantage for delivering mobile-TV services."
In the future, operators will most likely address mass-market audiences with a combination of network solutions. MBMS and dedicated broadcast networks, such as DVB-H, will be used for a few, popular scheduled TV programs that many will view simultaneously. Unicast services, specifically 3G point-to-point streaming, will be used to deliver an infinite number of scheduled TV programs that fewer will view simultaneously, as well as a broad range of popular on-demand services.
Networks based on 3G and HSPA technology are well suited to deliver highly popular mobile-TV services and on-demand programming. The concept of delivering any content to any device at any time is part of Ericsson's Full-Service Broadband strategy, which was launched at the Broadband World Forum in Paris. Nordlöf says that mobile broadband, which is essential for delivering mobile TV, is an important part of this full-service broadband strategy.
