Mobile TV Gets on a Roll

By Greg Sandoval

After a lackluster start, mobile TV is generating buzz again. Electronics makers, wireless operators and cell phone technology firms are betting big money that consumers on the go will soon clamor for TVs that they can tote in purses and pockets.

"The one message that came out loud and clear from our market research was that people who like TV like the idea of mobile TV," said Jeffrey Lorbeck, senior vice president at MediaFlow, the Qualcomm subsidiary that is deploying the company's high-speed wireless network in the U.S.

But the gulf between the idea and the reality of mobile TV -- at least at this point in its development -- still presents a few challenges to the consumer. Before TV fans can watch live NBA games or CNN broadcasts on their cell phones, they have to wade through a dizzying number of new video-enabled gadgets as well as special services and technologies, some with impenetrable acronyms like EV-DO and DVB-H.

Adding to the confusion are emerging competitive battles over signal transmission standards. Just this week, a group of companies that includes Intel, Nokia and Texas Instruments announced that they were joining forces to encourage open standards for TV broadcasts to mobile devices. The consortium, called the Mobile DTV Alliance, is promoting DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld), a technology that bypasses mobile networks and broadcasts directly to millions of handsets simultaneously.

Transmission networks in development include broadcast systems being built by MediaFlo, a subsidiary of Qualcomm that uses a technology called FLO, and Modeo, a DVB-H proponent owned by Crown Castle International. These systems deliver TV programming on networks that overlay existing 3G wireless networks. Another TV transmission technology, TDtv, developed by IPWireless, uses existing 3G networks to "multicast" TV signals to subscribers.

Ultimately, of course, it will be up to the wireless providers to decide which technology is most cost-effective for them. But pressure also is mounting to make things more reliable and user-friendly for prospective customers. Research firm In-Stat estimates that 1.1 million people purchased mobile video content last year in the U.S. but expects that number to rise to 30 million in 2010.

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