Non-Technical Issues Of Mobile TV

For a long time technical issues have dominated the news of mobile TV. Occasionally people talked about issues with royalties or whether short-form or long-form television worked best, but mostly the conflict ranged from different technology standards to the issue of spectrum. That’s beginning to change now as other issues are brought to the fore. Australia seems to be leading the reporting on that — mostly because the technical issues weren’t much of a problem (really only DVB-H and 3G were considered, and the government is releasing spectrum soon). The big issue is media ownership laws, and who should be allowed to run a mobile TV network. There’s currently a two-day senate hearing on whether the free-to-air networks should be allowed to bid, with newspaper company Fairfax arguing that “Australians would end up with repackaged reruns of Dancing with the Stars and Australian Idol on so-called mobile television if existing TV operators secured licences”, and there was “no scenario in which free-to-air or Foxtel would not be the highest bidder” for mobile licences”. True, Fairfax has a strong interest in getting one of the licenses and so has a vested interest in reducing the competition, but he does have a point — it would be good to get a different content provider running the networks, and there are plenty of companies other than free-to-air TV networks prepared to give Fairfax a run for its money.
It’s true that the Australian media landscape is pretty unique, but I think these issues will crop up more and more, especially in countries that have laws to prevent concentration of media ownership. The legislative issues over who can own a mobile TV network and restrictions on the content they run will arise, and content & royalty battles between players in the industry will continue to hot up. These issues have been on the backburner, either because they were being ignored while the nascent industry was nurtured or because the industry was too small to be noticed by the interested parties…and that’s changing.
On the other side of the globe the BBC has a review of two mobile TV networks there, Vodafone and Virgin. The article ends with general discussions of the type of content that is expected to be popular, such as user-generated content. “It’s a bit like YouTube, except you get paid if people watch it,” explains Tim Green, executive editor of Mobile Entertainment magazine…”So some people are making a few hundred quid a month from this. But they tend to be girls taking their tops off.”

Source- http://www.moconews.net

Vodafone rolls out own, China-made 3G phones

LONDON/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Vodafone Group Plc launched its first own-branded 3G handsets on Thursday, as the mobile phone giant tries to expand in the market for higher-paying third-generation services by luring more pre-pay users.

Huawei Technologies, China’s largest network gear maker, would supply the Vodafone 710 clamshell phone, the first in a series of similar own-branded handsets that it plans to source from Asian vendors, Vodafone said, confirming what a source close to the company told Reuters on Wednesday.

Vodafone’s tie-up with Huawei underscores a rising trend among European networks: tapping lower-cost Asian suppliers for “white-label” phones on which they stamp their own names.

Such handsets typically cost a third less than those sourced from more established handset brands, while giving operators the flexibility to customize phones to their own services.

“The idea is to bring affordability into the mainstream 3G space, where we really can extend the addressable market for 3G devices,” Jens Schulte-Bockum, Vodafone’s Global Director of Terminals, told reporters in Hong Kong.

“We are very confident we can deliver against that in the next couple of months, especially for the Christmas season in Europe which is the peak season of our sales.”

Source- http://today.reuters.co.uk

3G Opportunities for Test Firms in China

Considering the imminent Olympics 2008 in Beijing, issuing of 3G licenses to ensure high-speed mobile networks is probable this year. This is likely to drive demand in the wireless test and measurement equipment. New analysis from Frost and Sullivan reveals that the market earned revenues of US$197.7 million in 2005 and is likely to reach US$606.2 million in 2012.

The Chinese government is set to further the growth of 3G technology in China by fostering a robust domestic telecommunications industry. This can lead to tremendous investment in the telecom market and benefit both 3G terminal equipment makers and IT vendors.

3G technology standards including time division-synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) is likely to be the market leader, especially since current wireless communication networks are beginning to support these recent technologies. This is encouraging equipment manufacturers, service providers and consumers to invest in the promising wireless test and measurement equipment market.

“Growing network demands call for greater capacity, increased bandwidth and higher throughput in network systems,” notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst David Ren. “Test equipment manufacturers or service providers need to constantly evolve their products and services to meet these demands and keep pace with the developments in the wireless communication industry.”

However, the rapidly evolving technologies and standards create a unique challenge for manufacturers. As data, voice and video services converge in the networks, their testing and measurement is becoming more complex.

“Vendors need to enhance test equipment’s capability to integrate physical and protocol layer level testing for multiple standards, interfaces and protocols in a single instrument,” says Ren.

End users are expecting their test equipment to have a long shelf life and a platform to which they can add other hardware and software modules when new technologies are developed. Manufacturers can retain customers by designing test equipment that is scaleable and easily upgradeable for retaining customers.

Source- http://www.cellular-news.com

UPDATE:Vodafone Launches Own 3G Handsets; In Talks On 2G

HONG KONG -(Dow Jones)- Vodafone Group launched its first own-brand consumer cellphone based on third-generation technology Thursday, and said it is exploring possibilities to make second-generation mobile handsets under its brand.

The company is talking with several parties including Chinese handset manufacturers, Vodafone group director of terminals, Jens Schulte-Bockum, told reporters following the launch of the new handset in Hong Kong.

“We are in discussions with many different players,” said the executive. “There is no front runner…we continue to monitor the space.”

He didn’t provide more specific details.

The new clamshell 3G handset, called Vodafone 710, will be launched across Europe from early October, the company said in a statement.

The handset will be supplied by China’s Huawei Technologies under an alliance signed by the two companies in February.

Schulte-Bockum said Vodafone is aiming to sell a minimum of 200,000 3G units in the next six months. Vodafone is also aiming to launch an upgraded version of the handset in early summer next year.

The executive said the handsets will cost 30% less than the handsets manufactured by first-tier manufacturers such as Nokia, Motorola and Samsung Electronics among others.

Huawei isn’t Vodafone’s first partner for original design manufacturer handsets. The company has a partnership with Taiwan’s High Tech Computer to supply handsets for business users.

The executive said the company is aiming to have around 3% to 5% of the handsets it offerscarry its own brand sometime in 2007.

Vodafone’s handset volume is around 45 million, of which a third is 3G handsets, according to Schulte-Bockum.

As part of the company’s aim to further boost the number of Vodafone-branded handsets and devices, the company also said Thursday it has relocated part of its terminals division from Japan to Hong Kong to better source new devices and negotiate contracts with Asian manufacturers.

On whether Vodafone has any near-term plans to increase its stake in China Mobile, the executive said: “We believe the current stake we have in China Mobile gives us a very good presence in China. I’m not aware of any plans to change the current position.” Vodafone has a 3.27% stake in China Mobile.

Vodafone has been paring its holdings in slow-growth markets, with the mobile operator agreeing in August to sell a 25% stake in Belgian mobile phone operator Proximus for $2.6 billion.

Source- http://www.cellular-news.com

Huawei delivers Vodafone brand handset

Vodafoen has unveiled the first handset to be sold under its own brand name, the Vodafone 710. Developed by Huwaei with a Qualcomm chipset, the clamshell phone is set up to encourage users to take advantage of Vodafone 3G services. The handset includes an MP3 music player, a 1.3 megapixel camera and Bluetooth. It will be offered to both prepay and contract customers in the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Greece, Netherlands, Romania and Portugal from early October. Vodafone also announced that it has moved parts of its terminals division from Japan to Hong Kong in order to take advantage of further sourcing and development of handsets from Asian manufacturers.

Source- http://www.telecompaper.com

Top Ten Mobile Phone Sales in Telia Stores

Sony Ericsson’s K800i 3G mobile topped the list of best-selling mobile handsets in Telia’s retail stores for the second month in a row. A new phone entered the list for the month, the Motorola V360, which placed ninth. Sony Ericsson also dominated the list in September with five mobile phones. Built-in cameras are starting to be a common feature on mobile handsets today. Eight out of ten phones on the list have a camera.

1. (1) Sony Ericsson K800i
2. (3) Nokia 1110
3. (4) Sony Ericsson Z530i
4. (2) Sony Ericsson W810i
5. (5) Sony Ericsson K750i
6. (6) Nokia 5140i 
7. (7) Nokia 6020
8. (10) Sony Ericsson W300i
9. (-) Motorola V360
10. (8) Motorola C380

The statistics are based on sales in 76 Telia retail stores in Sweden. Telia has the largest retail chain in Sweden for telecom products and is one of the biggest resellers of mobile phones in the country.

Source- http://www.cellular-news.com

India Telecom Regulator Recommends 3G Service Guidelines -2-

Misra said he expects mobile phone operators to introduce 3G services in the country by June.
He said the highest bidder for each telecommunications zone will get to choose the best spectrum band, but the other four will have to offer a price no less than 25% lower than the highest bid.
Currently, companies such as Bharti Airtel Ltd. (532454.BY), Reliance Communications Ltd. (532712.BY), Tata Teleservices Ltd. (532371.BY). and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL.YY). have a nationwide presence in the country.
India is divided into 23 telecommunications zones, or circles. The mobile operators in the country offer their services using either global system for mobile communications – GSM – or code division multiple access -CDMA -technology.
TRAI recommended that the spectrum for immediate allocation for 3G services should be in the 450 megahertz, 800 MHz and 2.1 gigahertz bands.
“As per present estimates, 32.5 MHz of spectrum will be available in a time scenario of six to nine months for 3G services.”
Chairman Misra said TRAI has suggested the setting up of a National Frequency Management Board to ensure availability of additional spectrum, its efficient utilization and plan for future requirement of spectrum.
TRAI has recommended that 3G should be a stand-alone service as it shouldn’t be considered an extension of the existing second-generation, or 2G, services.
Companies offering 3G services would also have to fulfill obligations regarding coverage in the urban and rural areas, said TRAI.
Earlier Wednesday, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Dayanidhi Maran said 3G services will play a vital role in development works such as delivering education electronically and tele-medicine, besides offering better voice and multimedia Internet content.
South Korea and Japan have already introduced 3G services, while China is also expected to soon introduce such services, he said.
Globally, there are around 60 3G networks in 25 countries.

Source- http://www.easybourse.com

Hutchison’s 3 Enters Third Mobile-TV Market

Hutchison 3G Ireland won a license from regulator ComReg to trial broadcast-TV services over mobile handsets based on DVB-H technology. Similar services from the carrier have launched in the U.K. and Italy.

The Irish license takes effect immediately and runs for one year. 3 is one of the most innovative mobile operators in Europe, with operations in both the U.K. and Italy. 3’s sister company in Italy launched its WalkTV DVB-H service, already claiming 140,000 customers in just six weeks.

“3 Italy was first in Europe to launch broadcast TV over mobile so, as a group, we are already leading the development of this new technology,” comments Robert Finnegan, 3’s managing director. “Ireland has a high take-up of digital-TV services compared to many EU countries, with 42 percent of all households using digital-TV services. DVB-H brings the benefits of digital TV to mobile. Mobile TV is important to 3 and to the Irish market, as consumers demand more sophisticated mobile services.”

In the U.K., while there is a lot of talk about such broadcast technologies as DVB-H, Mark Joseph., 3’s director of music and TV, tells sister e-letter Inside Digital TV this week that he believes 3 already had experienced strong success delivering services via 3G. “For us, 3G will remain a key component of our delivery of TV services, but we will naturally be watching the progression of the other TV technologies,” he says. “We are already demonstrating some pretty significant successes in delivering TV. For example, we had a World Cup service with more than 3.6 million TV viewings across our network.”

However, in Italy, where 3 believes mobile TV will be a key part of its strategy to boost its number of postpaid wireless customers, DVB-H is the delivery method of choice. According to Alessandro Floris, 3 Italia’s television director, “We think DVB-H is an extra weapon for us to push the ARPU and to reduce churn. We are pushing our postpaid plans a lot. We launched mobile digital TV in June, and now you pay 29 euros per month. You have voice, content, Internet access and full access to TV. You gain the telephone for free with a 24-month contract. The idea is ‘all you can eat, so we are asking customers to stay with us for two years.” (For more on 3 in the U.K. and Italy, read a related story in Inside Digital TV at

Source- http://www.telecomweb.com

India Seeks Minimum $52 Mln as 3G Mobile Fees in Biggest Cities

India will get at least $52 million each from Bharti Airtel Ltd. and its rivals for airwaves that will allow mobile-phone companies to offer video-streaming and similar high-speed services in the nation’s four biggest cities.The government will set a base price and auction radio frequencies instead of an entry fee for third-generation services, Nripendra Mishra, chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said in New Delhi today. Existing operators, too, will have to go through the process for extra bandwidth, he said, after releasing the regulator’s recommendations. There will be no ceiling on the number of bidders.

The base price for the New Delhi and Mumbai circles will be 800 million rupees ($17 million) each and half that amount for Chennai and Kolkata, Mishra said. The regulator has recommended three radio frequencies for third-generation services. These radio frequencies may be available in six to nine months, Mishra said. Smaller cities will cost 150 million rupees.

Bharti, part owned by U.K.’s Vodafone Group Plc., and rivals such as the local unit of Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd. and Idea Cellular Ltd. want to start third- generation services to spur spending and reverse a steady fall in average revenue per user. These services, which allow a subscriber to download television programs and real-time stock prices to their handsets, will also mean increased sales for such companies as Ericsson AB and China’s ZTE Corp. that supply the equipment for third-generation networks.

Spectrum Sale

India is assessing how available frequency bands, locally called spectrum, may be sold without significantly raising subscription costs for third-generation, or 3G, services. The south Asian nation, which along with China adds more phone subscribers than any other country, wants auctions to determine the cost of spectrum across various telecommunications zones.

Pricing will determine whether Bharti, the biggest mobile- phone company in the country, will start 3G services.

“We will withdraw if the auctions are headed that way,” Bharti Chairman Sunil Mittal said in the northern Indian town of Ludhiana, referring to the high fees paid by European mobile operators for 3G spectrum.

India trails Indonesia and Malaysia in offering third- generation cellular technology. Maxis Communications Bhd., Malaysia’s biggest operator, plans to spend 2.85 billion ringgit ($408 million) in the next four years to expand its high-speed Internet and mobile-phone networks. Indonesia’s PT Telekomunikasi Selular, which plans to start its high-speed services within a month, will spend 3 trillion rupiah ($330 million) developing 3G in three years.

“The process for introducing 3G services in India has already been initiated and it’s expected to be launched by the second half of next year,” Dayanidhi Maran, communications and information technology minister, said in New Delhi today. “India will no more remain isolated from the 3G wave.”

Next Year

Third-generation services in India are expected to start by June next year, Mishra said.

Sri Lanka, the island-nation off the coast of southern India, last month became the first South Asian country to allocate frequencies to operators for starting these services.

China’s government hasn’t said when it will give out 3G licenses, or how many it will issue. Companies may spend 80 billion yuan ($10 billion) on 3G networks in the first year licenses are issued, according to Beijing-based researcher BDA China Ltd.

Source- http://www.bloomberg.com

JAJAH Mobile wants to turn the wireless phone industry on its ear

There’s a new mobile calling plan on the block, and while it’s not yet available for everyone and every phone, those who can use it should be able to save some serious moolah.

Back in March, Ars reported on a new VoIP service by the name of JAJAH  that works kind of in reverse of regular VoIP options like the ones offered by Vonage, Verizon, or Packet8. You go to the JAJAH site , input your own phone number and the one you want to call, and then both phones will ring and connect through the service’s Internet-service backbone rather than whatever lines your local provider likes to use.

That’s all very clever, and also very cheap—I can use it to call my family in Sweden for 2.5¢ a minute (19¢ to reach their cell phones) whereas Vonage charges 6¢ and 37¢, respectively. Local CLEC Verizon could charge as much as 93¢/minute for a landline call, depending on my calling plan.

The mobile service JAJAH annouced today works a bit differently once again. You need to install a Java plugin for your phone, and that piece of software is currently only available for some phones running Symbian OS. (The company says that they’re working on broader phone support.) Once installed and configured, this plugin will attempt to reroute your calls through the JAJAH infrastructure rather than the phone company’s backbone. Rather than getting a callback, though, this service should be transparent to you and work much like any other cellphone call—only cheaper (or even free), depending on who you’re calling.

The plugin sends an SMS message to the backbone servers, or optionally a GPRS transmission if you want it to go that route instead. The server calls your target and your phone, the plugin picks up automatically without generating a ringtone, and it all looks like a normal call.

If this works as advertised (I don’t have a Symbian phone so I can’t test it), it’s a truly great idea and one that could put a serious hurt on the current paradigm of limiting cell phones to a certain number of calling minutes lest you want to face ridiculous overage charges. The success of this model could be nothing more than a marketing challenge as it can be difficult for a small startup to get the word out to the general populace in a speedy manner. Then again, I’m sure Cingular, Alltel, and Sprint Nextel won’t be happy to play host to what must look like a parasitic network that generates no revenue for them, and they may take technical steps to stop this thing.

Source- http://arstechnica.com