Feb 12 2005
Sony
Ericsson and Nokia today announced their intention to co-operate to
achieve interoperability in DVB-H enabled devices and secure multivendor
mobile TV services and pilots from 2006 onwards. There are going to be a
multitude of technologies that will enable consumers to access different
types of content over mobile phones. Sony Ericsson and Nokia recognize
DVB-H as the preferred technology for terrestrial digital broadcast
mobile TV, with both parties being active in ongoing standardisation and
technology development to enable an improved mobile TV experience for
the consumers.
To secure interoperability in
multi-vendor mobile TV service pilots, the Open Air Interface
implementation guidelines, publicly available on the web (www.nokia.com/mobiletv),
will be used. Current and future technologies within related
standardisation bodies will be reflected in future releases of the OAI
implementation guidelines and compatible products.
"Sony Ericsson believes that mobile TV
will be a key growth area for the mobile phone industry in terms of
handsets, applications, content and services. With our unique background
in telecommunications and audio visual technology, we are ideally
positioned to take advantage of these new exciting business
opportunities" said Mats Lindoff, Chief Technology Officer, Sony
Ericsson. "We are pleased to announce this co-operation with Nokia on
developing DVB-H interoperability as we believe this will be one of the
key technologies driving the mobile TV market in the future."
"Availability of interoperable DVB-H
enabled mobile devices is crucial in opening up the mass market for
broadcast mobile TV," says Ilkka Raiskinen, Senior Vice President,
Multimedia Experiences, Nokia. "We are delighted to see that the Open
Air Interface (OAI) implementation guidelines which we published in
August 2005 can serve as a concrete starting point for interoperability.
We are confident that DVB-H will be the technology that enables the best
broadcast TV experience on mobile devices."
DVB-H technology complements existing
operator networks, optimizing capacity and quality. It offers consumers
the chance to enjoy high quality terrestrial digital broadcasts along
with voice telephony and internet access all in a single device.
Broadcast mobile TV will offer new business opportunities for mobile
service providers, content and broadcast companies, infrastructure and
handset manufacturers as well as technology providers.
The feedback from different mobile TV
pilots has been promising. The recent interim results from the Oxford
Mobile TV Trial showed that there is clear consumer demand for the
service and that 83% of the pilot participants are satisfied with the
end-to-end service provided.
DVB-H technology enables the TV service
you are familiar with at home to be broadcast to your mobile device. DVB-H
provides the best user experience in the mobile environment with
excellent picture and reduced battery consumption. Up to 50 TV channels
can be delivered with low cost, over one network. With extensive pilots
of broadcast mobile TV currently taking place across the globe,
involving leading broadcasters, mobile operators, broadcast network
operators and handset manufacturers, the market for commercial broadcast
services is expected to spread during 2006.
The Open Air Interface (OAI) 1.0
implementation guidelines which Nokia published in August 2005 are
availabe at www.nokia.com/mobiletv. The Open Air Interface is based on
existing DVB-H standards and specifies how mobile TV devices connect
with the DVB-H network and the servers of the overall mobile TV service
infrastructure. The OAI specification was published to enable
multivendor interoperability in the mobile TV industry.
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