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FLO TV Rolling Out Strongly: Why not more Spectrum for such a successful service?

Oct 2009

The FLO service is at present operating using just one or two channels ( UHF channels 54/55) across the United states, in the markets where it is available. By all accounts it is a very successful service. It is designed for mobile devices and is not an adaptation of a large screen technology to “also” serve mobile devices. It provides nearly 20 video channels in a 6 MHz spectrum slot, which is way beyond its competitors. ‘

The question is that why such an efficient service is not being used across more spectrum slots, delivering more channels? One reason is that the spectrum in UHF is very tightly held by TV stations. However that is not entirely true. The last dividend auction has resulted in many players getting UHF spectrum. One would imagine that with such an efficient spectrum use more users would be attracted.

Another plausible reason is that the digital dividend spectrum is largely held by AT&T and Verizon, both with deep pockets. However is not interesting that it is these very players which are providing the FLO TV services under the VCAST and AT&T mobile TV brands? The same players wish to retain the spectrum for future services. is it to do with the licensing policy? It is also interesting that FLO has now started the direct to consumer initiative, which puts a question on the present sellers of the service, AT&T and Verizon. Is it because FLO will use all carriers? AT&T has a history of walled gardens—the iPhone is an example. What future does FLO has on iPhones? Is the conflict of interest of 3G carriers such as AT&T and Verizon in data revenues too high with FLO? Why would they let the streaming revenues go away for the FLO services of $8.99 a month? What would be their approach to ATSC M/H services?

It will be interesting to watch these developments.

http://www.tv2mtv.com

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Mobile Broadcasting: An Opportunity Knocking on the Doors

Broadcasting and Cablesat August 2008

Tuesday, 19 August 2008

The greatest problem with communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished once and for all - George Bernard Shaw.

The last year saw a subtle but firm trend worldwide of increasing availability of broadcasting to mobile phones. One network after another went on stream and over 80 countries today, including our Asian neighbors such as Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan and Philippines support broadcasting to mobile phones. Broadcasting services to mobile phones require certain basic infrastructural inputs such as 3G or VHF/UHF spectrum or wireless spectrum for using the WiMAX technology, which pro-active governments in countries across the US, Europe and Asia have readily provided.

India is the largest market in the world in terms of the growth of mobile phones, with nearly 10 million being added a month and the second largest in the world in terms of absolute numbers at over 250 million phones in operation. The growth would have been much higher but is unfortunately low due to the lack of regulatory infrastructure such as allocation of 3G spectrum, licensing policy and spectrum for UHF mobile broadcasting, and non- allocation of spectrum in the 2.3 and 2.5 GHz bands for mobile WiMAX. This brings into focus the sheer untapped potential of broadcasting services to mobiles.

India not only leads in mobile devices growth but also has the richest content in the world with over 350 TV channels being telecast and the largest film and animation industry, which are key ingredients for mobile content. It is no secret that a lot of mobile content being broadcast today worldwide uses companies based in India for generating, processing and re-purposing mobile content, games, and animation services. As the Indian companies graduate to new technologies which can deliver flawless and interactive mobile content, there is an explosion waiting to happen in the mobile broadcast arena.

Content delivered to mobile devices

The delivery of content to mobile devices is a relatively simple process owing to the small screen sizes and consequently low bit rates required to deliver mobile TV. The typical screen size used is QVGA which is equivalent to 320 × 240 resolution and needs only 1/16^thof the bit rates needed for standard resolution broadcast TV. The use of MPEG4 compression technologies makes it possible to deliver 20-40 mobile TV channels in 8 MHz of spectrum used to deliver one standard definition analog TV channel. The content to mobile devices is generally delivered in conjunction with Mobile 2.0 services which include the mobile web, access to social networking, and instant messaging and presence services (IMPS).

The actual delivery of content takes place on a unicast basis (i.e. a separate stream for each user as in 3G networks) or on a broadcast basis as in MediaFLO or DVB-H networks. There are multiple technologies available such as DMB, DVB-H, FLO and others all of which achieve the purpose of reliably encapsulating the content and transmitting it using COFDM, CDMA or VSB in order that it is robust enough to be used in handheld environments and has features to conserve power. There are many implementations of such networks around the world.

Regulatory framework needed for mobile broadcasting

While the resources required for mobile broadcasting may be very small it is the licensing framework which has been impeding the imminent exploitation of this technology which is now commonly available in countries around the world. For example the 3G spectrum allocation policy in the country has been under discussion for over 3 years now. This is amazing for a country with such a vibrant mobile industry. The GSM or CDMA bands presently in use are brimming with users competing for voice services. While India is still debating the 3G policy, many extensions to the 3G such as HSDPA or EV-DO have already been developed and deployed and talks are on for the IMT-Advanced or 4G services which would be delivered using the WiMAX or 3G-LTE ( long term evolution) technologies.

The mobile TV framework for the country was prescribed by the TRAI after an extensive consultation process in Jan 2008 and it had appeared that the dawn of the New Year will also bring technologies which give a new life to the smart-phones which millions of Indians carry, but that was not to be. The mobile TV policy including the spectrum allocation in the UHF band has been relegated to the sidelines as was the case for its sibling i.e. the digital terrestrial broadcast, the framework for which was announced in 2005 by the TRAI.

Another mode of mobile broadcasting is using mobile WiMAX, which brings very high speed Internet and multicast TV to mobile devices. New networks such as XOHM in USA have already started rolling out with WiMAX multimedia broadcast offerings. However the mobile WiMAX spectrum allocation policy is also still awaiting the light of the day.

India seems to have fallen into the classic trap, where the operation of existing licenses prevents a fair implementation of new policies. We have seen this earlier in Internet telephony, where in order to protect the interests of the incumbent universal service licensees (UASL), regulators prevented the connection of the VoIP and public telephony networks in its entirety. The same issues are now arising with mobile operators, broadcasters, and other potential entrants.

Most of the services such as DTH, cable TV, terrestrial broadcast and mobile broadcast originate from the same broadcasters and in many cases the same equipment can support multiple delivery modes.

However the regulators have chosen to compartmentalize each service in its own cocoon. Hence, when permitted, India will see a different face of a mobile broadcaster, terrestrial broadcaster, DTH or cable operator for the same service or channel. While such an approach may be very comforting to a licensor or a service regulator, the fact is that the users today overwhelmingly prefer services which can be used while being on the move. This means that an IP-based wireless service provider who can offer all of the Web 2.0 services, offer media broadcasting and also bundle in "on demand" and "traditional TV" broadcasts, has an obvious advantage over a pure broadcaster.

Potential of mobile broadcasting in India?

In a survey by KPMG across 300 leaders in digital media and venture capital space, over 76 percent responded saying that mass adoption of mobile video was no more than one to three years away. In a country where the sale of mobile wall papers, ring tones, and SMS can be a billion dollar business, the potential of mobile broadcasting services provided over the right networks such as 3G, UHF or WiMAX can be well imagined. No past data can help project the true potential as the existing VAS services are merely the poor siblings which can be managed in the bandwidth and resource constrained environment.

The availability of the right licensing framework will enable the launch of a new generation of mobile multimedia and interactive services. The new services will not only enrich the user experience but will also give a fillip to the mobile content, animation, film and TV and advertising, and media industries.

It is evident that it is not only the operators actually providing the mobile TV services who gain from the new generation mobile broadcasting services but also an entire ecosystem of content, software, and animation industries.

Mobile advertising is another source of revenue which comes with mobile broadcasting services. Due to its very nature, mobile advertising can be user, location or program specific and thus be more effective and have a much higher success rate.

Mobile broadcasting services are generally billed on a fixed (per month) charge ranging from USD 20-40 based on the type of content and the number of channels available. Indian operators can expect revenues of Rs. 200-500 per month based on the offerings and target markets.

Type of content ideally suited for mobile broadcasting networks

As the time span of attention on a mobile screen is much lower than on a standard TV, specially repackaged content, news, sports and weather information are ideally suited for mobile TV networks. Sports content has been found to be the most commonly viewed content in most implementations worldwide and the trend is expected to be the same in India, which has one of the most extensive sports channel viewership. In addition animated content such as short movies or cartoons find good viewership amongst the kids and teens.

FM radio in broadcast mode can already be received on most mobile phones and it is expected that with 3G or WiMAX based networks, the internet radio stations will also be accessible over the mobile phones.

Devices which combine location-based services (LBS) such as maps and driving directions have an additional advantage as the mobile is the sole device which is needed for entertainment, office applications as well as voice.

Examples of mobile broadcasting networks

A number of successful mobile broadcasting networks operate around the globe. One of the early mobile content aggregators and service providers is MobiTV which provides services in the United States, Canada, and a number of countries in South America based on delivery via multiple 3G networks.

In regard to the mobile broadcast services using the VHF and UHF bands, over 50 networks are in operation or in advanced commercial trials using technologies such as DMB, DVB-H or MediaFLO.

In USA, FLO-based broadcast services are being provided by AT&T and Verizon, while Europe abounds with DVB-H and 3G-based operators. In Korea, services are being provided based on DMB-T standards by operators such as KBS and SBS.

Exploiting new opportunities

The lifetime for the emergence of new technologies has now fallen by an order of magnitude and is less than 2-3 years. The realization of such technologies however requires the licensing and regulatory framework to be equally efficient and dynamic and the resources to be available in a timely manner based on an open and transparent process. This process can be no other than an open auction of resources available if the experience of other countries is anything to go by. The industry needs to work pro-actively with the government and the regulator, TRAI, to set in place an agreed framework which will help unleash the multi-billion dollar revenue opportunities which the new medium of mobile broadcasting provides.

Smartphones and Mobile TV: What has changed in 2009?

Oct 2009

The last two years have shown a sharp growth in the use of smartphones and it seems likely that a major change in user behaviour is underway. More than 500 million smartphones are in use toady with capabilities to access internet via 3G, WiFi or other networks. More and more users are using the handsets to search the internet (say by using google mobile, Bing , msn or yahoo), look for offers for travel, weather information, food outlets or use webmail .Most mail sites such as hotmail or live! have mobile versions now. Teens also use it extensively for social networking such as on sites like Facebook, Flickr! , LinkedIn, Twitter, itsmy.com etc. They also use it for sites relating to sex, stream videos and use MMS extensively. Smartphones are also being increasingly used for location based services such as using Mapquest, Google Maps, SirF Atlas and others. Browsing sites such as amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, taking part in online auctions, using chatrooms are also common applications. It is expected that over 1 billion smartphones will be in use by end of 2010, with a significant number being driven by markets in US, Europe, China and India.

Mobile TV whether delivered as streaming video or via a terrestrial media therefore does not always imply buying an expansive phone. Most 3G phones support streaming video and as terrestrial networks become popular, more and more smartphones come with terrestrial tuners built in. In Korea and Japan, a majority of handsets now have a tuner for T-DMB or ISDB-T built in, both of which are free TV services for mobiles. In China, where the number of cities from where mobile TV based on CMMB is offered have jumped to 190 within a year of commercial drive and every new 3G handset to receive government approval must have a CMMB tuner. These three countries today have more mobile TV users than any other country owing to this simple reason. Mobile advertising, so far small is also expected to pick up as the smartphones go beyond a critical mass of 1 billion.

It is imminent that with falling prices of devices like multimedia processors, the smartphones will tend to largely replace the use of the desktops as the medium for access to information, social networking as well as doing daily tasks such as checking mail, making reservations and secure banking transactions because these devices have better embedded security cores and malware is more difficult to propagate owing to the limited resource set and processing capabilities of these devices.

To the industry, the realization that the mobile devices should be considered as THE primary media rather than an extension of desktop experience came rather late. The initial mobile devices had browsers which could view regular websites ( even via multiple screens) while development of websites specifically for mobile devices was rather slow. This accounts for relatively few websites designed for mobiles even as most biggies such as google, gmail , amazon , YouTube or e-bay have now dedicated sites for mobiles.

The launch of Twitter where the maximum size of the message is only 140 characters and where you can even shorten the website references you give in this short message is an indicator of how applications will completely transform to serve the mobile smartphone world. Twitter, for example can potentially reach all the handsets ( smartphones or not) with a potential reach of over 5 billion users. Sites such as itsmy.com are other examples which are designed for mobiles and desktops are an extension rather than being the other way around.

There is now a scramble in the industry to enable virtually all websites, whether these are for auctions, news, travel, weather, streaming videos( e.g. DivX mobile or Flash Lite),providing game downloads, music stores, internet radios, freeware and downloads specially for mobiles. Application shops for mobiles, which rarely sold a few thousand applications now sells millions ow downloads. For example, the iPhone application shop ( iTunes ) has over 100,000 applications developed by over 125,000 developers, and had seen millions of downloads since its launch in Feb 2009. And this is only one of the application stores. There are over a hundred others including application stores from Nokia, Orange, Sony-Ericsson, RIM( Blackberry) and others.

Guess which TV players had one of the largest downloads? It was the TVUplayer for iPhones and iPods. These trends have set a scramble for mobile players and even Microsoft has announced Silverlight for Mobiles. Guess where the action is for development of gaming? It is for mobile games including multiplayer mobile games. Websites are coming up with free stuff for mobiles including wallpapers, screen savers, ringtones and free mobile websites for individuals or companies. Employment websites such as monster.com, Mp3 download websites and popular search engines are now targeting the use by mobile devices.

Mobile TV is one of the applications which now exists on the smartphones together with a host of others which enable navigation, multimedia, and secure shopping. It is no longer an isolated application requiring a separate handsets which users would rather ignore. As services based on terrestrial broadcasting such as MediaFLO ( AT&T and Verizon) and ATSC M/H roll out, multi-standard tuners are likely to become popular in most phones.

The mobile operators initially tried to provide locked phones, secured application downloads and firewalled websites but the launch of newer and newer devices with open systems such as Android has finally put the fear of God and they have decided to go with the FLO. Vonage, for example, became available for mobiles using Wi-Fi, bypassing the cellular networks. In CTIA wireless, AT&T announced opening up its mobile network for applications such as VoIP ( Skype, Vonage,Gtalk etc.). Even the iPhone application store has now an application for Vonage mobile.

A new frontier is now being launched as Comcast and Time Warner start broadband operations using WiMAX. This will provide an alternative to Wi-Fi with high sustained data rates which can support video.

Mobile Video is now riding on a massive wave, which is transforming the way the net is accessed and media is delivered. Almost all popular channels already have their mobile versions such NBC mobile or ESPN mobile and are available via 3G as well as terrestrial broadcast networks. It is now amongst a community of over 500 million devices which can be potentially addressed. Technologies such as FLO TV are set to reach over 200 million users by end of 2009.

The new medium is now already on a path to becoming universal, even though some of the users may start seeing more of it by end of 2009 or early 2010 when more stations with ATSC and FLO go on air and as HSPA networks from major carriers roll out with greater speeds. It will be imperative for all businesses big or small to target the new world through mobiles as they started doing through internet a while back. A lot of content and applications are right now being repurposed. But one thing is certain – the future growth of mobile TV and video is set to surprise most people.

Mobile Broadcasting with WiMAX

Amitabh Kumar