Mobile TV to top agenda at CTIA, but Mobile Music set to steal the limelight

Informat: Mobile TV to top agenda at CTIA, but Mobile Music set to steal the limelight

Monday 3 April, 2006Wireless broadband, mobile TV and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) will be some of the key themes at this year's CTIA Wireless 2006 conference in Las Vegas.

Rollouts of HSDPA and 1xEV-DO Rev. A are expected to take centre stage as operators look to enable faster delivery of multimedia services to the end-user. Ask anyone in the industry the hottest topics for 2006, everyone will say 'Mobile TV'.

Although Digital Mobile Broadcast (DMB) will be the technology of choice in a number of markets worldwide for the next couple of years,Qualcomm's MediaFLO solution and Modea's DVB-H will both figure largein Las Vegas.

However that mobile music should also not be forgotten asfull track downloads are taking 30 seconds or less on 3G networks. As an industry it's only natural to look to the next big thing, but it is the consumers that we must consider at all times as ultimately they determine what's successful .

In early February 2006, U.S. operator Sprint Nextel disclosed that its Sprint Music Store had reached a milestone with 1 million track downloads since the service launched on Oct. 24, 2005. And the U.S. market is gaining competition as MVNO Amp'd takes on the heavyweight Apple iTunes with its 99c full-track dual-delivered (handset & PC) music download model. Operator Verizon Wireless is pushing a similarfull-track service, charging 99c for PC-downloaded songs and $1.99 for dual-delivery to a handset and PC.

The MVNO business is developing quite differently in the United States than it has in other markets. The U.S. is seeing the rise of ahost of brand- and content-driven MVNOs targeting a variety of customerniches. Recently launched examples include Amp'd and Mobile ESPN. Other MVNOs launching imminently include Helio and Disney Mobile, with Disney Mobile officially announcing its new service on Wednesday at the CTIA event, .

Despite the continued excitement for applications and services it is worth remembering that update of such services goes hand in hand with high. Wireless is expected to announce further plans for its rollout of WCDMA/HSDPA, while Sprint Nextel last week announced plans to start offering 1xEV-DO Revision A in 1Q07. With the evolution to Rev. A, users will experience faster downloads, and uploads that are up to 10 times faster. HSUPA is also on the horizon and T-Mobile may well start offering services with Release 6 equipment in markets it picks up during the Advanced Wireless Spectrum auction scheduled to begin June 29,.

Sprint Nextel also plans to launch what it calls 4G services in the 2.5GHz band by 2008-09, and could reveal more details at CTIA. Sprint Nextel is trialling everything from WiMAX and FLASH-OFDM to 3G LTE and TD-CDMA for its 2.5GHz services, which it describes as '4G', . The scale and timing of Sprint Nextel's 2.5GHz plans means its technology decision could help make or break emerging technologies such as WiMAX and FLASH-OFDM. 2006Wireless broadband, mobile TV and mobile virtual network

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