Operators Orange and T-Mobile UK announced a joint pilot trialing a new mobile TV and multimedia broadcast service delivered to London-area consumers via multimedia solutions provider NextWave Wireless' UMTS MBMS-based TDtv solution. The six-month pilot, scheduled to commence in the second half of this year, proposes to reduce mobile broadcast costs by means of shared, unpaired 3G spectrum and a standards-based TDtv network--according to NextWave, the consortium model is designed for easy replication in more than 50 additional markets where unpaired 3G spectrum is available. The end-to-end NextWave solution also includes a TDtv Device Integration Pack as well as a complete chipset and software package enabling OEMs to efficiently add TDtv to multimedia-enabled WCDMA handsets--NextWave's Packet Video subsidiary will also provide a complete Electronics Programming Guide to integrate TDtv with the operators' existing 3G services in addition to its new MediaFusion white-label, rich media services software platform.
During the course of the trial, Orange and T-Mobile UK will deliver to TDtv-enabled WCDMA handsets as many as 24 television channels (including a majority of Britain's major broadcast and premium networks) and 10 digital radio stations, all fully integrated with the carriers' existing multimedia services. Mobile operators in the Europe and Asia Pacific markets owning unpaired UMTS spectrum will be invited to observe the pilot, as will handset makers willing to add TDtv as a standard device feature. --Jason
For more on the TDtv trial:
- read this release
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