One of the more intriguing demos during CTIA's Super Mobility Week event in early September was at the Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) booth, where the vendor installed a row of stadium seating that let folks relax for a bit and watch multiple screens full of multicast sports content. The demo highlighted the types of offerings that are possible with not just LTE Multicast--a technology that is on lots of operators' minds--but Wi-Fi Multicast as well.
While the idea of delivering live multimedia to smartphones and tablets belonging to audience members attending a sporting event or concert could be dismissed as merely an interesting value-added offering that might bring operators and venues some new revenue streams, it's actually a much, much bigger deal. Multicasting is part of a major push by venues to ensure not just basic wireless coverage but a full range of multimedia entertainment experiences that are increasingly being demanded by event attendees. Wireless communications services, including multicasting, are becoming essential for many venues that want to keep the stands filled.
Venues can now choose between LTE Multicast and Wi-Fi Multicast, and one or the other might be most appropriate in a given situation. But Ericsson and Cisco both think LTE Multicast and Wi-Fi Multicast are complementary, bringing different advantages to the table. To learn more, check out this FierceWirelessTech feature.--Tammy