Mobile Tv

Next Generation Mobile Communication Services By : Antonis Hontzeas M.B.A.

Mobile Entertainment Service Market to Increase threefold to $64bn by 2012 . Music, games and mobile TV will be the major contributors to the global mobile entertainment market which will rise to more than $64 billion by 2012. Other mobile entertainment sectors include User-generated Content, Gambling, Adult and Infotainment. Mobile music will remain the largest single sector of the mobile entertainment industry over the next five years. Revenues from music will to $17.5 billion in 2012, bolstered by the increasing availability of full-track download and streamed services, the former in both paid-for and rental formats. Likewise, mobile games will retain its second-ranking in terms of end-user generated revenues: boosted by rapid growth in mass market "casual" gaming, revenues are expected to rise to nearly $16 billion in 2012. Among next generation technologies, mobile TV will gain more and more momentum, as mobile users get lots of useful content including information, films and other entertainment related content on their mobiles. Many mobile network operators worldwide have rolled out commercial mobile TV services already, and consumers are becoming more discerning in their demand. The number of mobile TV users in the Asia Pacific region is expected to be around 25 m by the beginning of 2009. While India has already emerged as the fastest growing telecom market in the world, mobile TV will generate additional revenue stream for service providers and content providers. Though the number of triple-play services users will be less than simple voice and data users, the revenue generated by mobile TV will be very high as mobile TV services will be costlier than the simple services. Various stakeholders, including service providers, content providers, and advertisers benefit from service fees, content fees, advertising and paid interactions such as games, videos, and seasonal greetings. Mobile TV should see the market rise to $11.9 billion in 2012 According to Dr Windsor Holden, "With revenues from voice services declining and messaging revenues flat lining, last year finally saw a number of more sophisticated entertainment services begin to fulfill their potential and redress the balance. With more widespread penetration of 3G handsets – or entertainment-focused 2.5G handsets like the iPhone – there is likely to be a much greater surge in both the adoption and overall usage in rich media services."

Other findings include: • Regulations and prohibitions will limit opportunities in the adult and gambling sectors, although restrictions on gambling services will ease in the medium term • China and the Far East will remain the largest regional market for mobile entertainment throughout the period , with revenues rising to nearly $21.3bn by 2012 • Entertainment service adoption remains constrained by difficulties with the user interface, network speed and coverage and the excessive cost of data services

On the other hand, The world’s first Mobile TV, SDMB, was launched in 2004 followed by TDMB in 2005 with the hope of rapid change of user habits to so that broadcasting on a mobile device would become a popular affair. The initial results in Korea (as they were in Europe in the 2006 – 2007 timeframe) were not very encouraging. In the Korean Case, even though DMB viewers are projected to be more than 30 m by 2012, the related operators are still operating the DMB service at a loss. The unsatisfactory business performance can be traced to :

1. Weak revenue model TDMB is solely based on Advertising revenue (ie. A clear television business model) but because of the limited viewer base is unattractive as a marketing medium for advertisers. 2. Poor contents Mobile TV is a personal media, for which viewers watch only in specific situations such as in the subway etc. But the TDMB players are mostly terrestrial broadcasters retransmitting unoriginal or syndicated content. Attempts to produce original material suited or targeted for mobile media failed to produce the required economies of scale which in turn attracted less viewers and entered a negative spiral (or a catch 22). 3. An unbundled bundled mess Attempts were made to publish bundled services (such as navigation) with the core offering (broadcast content). But inconsistent strategies non coherent diverging strategies by the parties involved resulted in an ineffective incoherent strategy which led nowhere.

The European Commission’s approach: Mobile TV is a new service platform for transmitting audiovisual content – and associated interactive services, in particular in association with 3G services to a mobile device. The 2007 Communication indicated the main elements of a European strategy for mobile TV with a view to facilitating the take-up of these innovative services across the Union. One of the key elements is the regulatory environment. Legal certainty is paramount for operators to take investment decisions, especially with respect to new, innovative technologies such as mobile TV; early investors in particular need to be reassured that they will not be subject to unforeseen constraints at a later stage. Other elements of the EU strategy include the recognition that DVB-H will be the standard for terrestrial mobile TV in Europe (DVB-H was added to the list of official standards of the European Union on 17 March 20083), and the call for frequencies to be granted to mobile TV services in the UHF band, notably on the occasion of the refarming of this band in the context of the digital dividend. On the other hand, interoperability concerns still need to be tackled by industry and the Commission's services will monitor developments closely and assess the need for a policy initiative. Mobile TV lies at the heart of convergence. This means that at EU level, mobile TV is subject to two sets of rules, governing transmission and content: the e-communications framework, including aspects related to spectrum policy, and the new Audiovisual Media Services Directive. This Communication addresses authorisation models at national level only with reference to the e-communications aspects of national regulatory regimes, and does not touch upon content licences. It summarises the main results of the fact-finding exercise and indicates best practice examples with regard to the main elements of the authorisation regimes for mobile TV. This is intended to serve as a basis for further discussion and exchange of best practice among national authorities. Legal Framework for Mobile TV Networks and Services: Best Practice for Authorisation – The EU Model 3.4. Specific aspects At this early stage of development of the market, it would appear desirable that any specific conditions attached to authorisations are appropriate and avoid imposing unnecessary burdens on operators. 3.4.1. “Must-carry” rules In accordance with European legislation, “must-carry” obligations can only be imposed if a significant number of end-users of a network use it as their principal means to receive radio and television broadcasts. At present, mobile TV is still in its start-up phase; “must-carry” rules may not be imposed on mobile TV at this stage. At any rate, channels benefiting from must-carry are also often “must-have” channels, which actually increase the commercial value for the distribution services and are likely to be included in any main mobile TV bouquet. Communication, national regulatory authorities could usefully envisage “must offer” rules for mobile TV as a nascent service needing attractive content.

3.4.2. Network Infrastructure Sharing Network infrastructure sharing is an important element to minimise roll out costs and increase coverage and transmission capacity. As stated in the 2007 Communication, Member States may consider permitting network infrastructure sharing and encouraging co-location when this is needed to facilitate network deployment. Co-location may also be imposed where necessary to address possible environmental concerns. 3.4.3. Interoperability and roaming The objective of full interoperability across networks and devices remains important in order to make possible EU-wide roaming where appropriate, and interoperable solutions should be favoured. Developments in the market have shown that interoperability can be achieved when stakeholders act together with a common aim of implementing a technical standard such as DVB-H. Efforts are currently being made in this respect in industrial and standardisation fora, notably focusing on the services and applications layers. Furthermore, the wireless nature of mobile TV means that consumers will legitimately expect devices to work across borders, as is the case with “roaming” mobile telephony. EU-wide mobile TV roaming is likely to gain importance as the take-up of services grows across Europe. It should also be recalled that some cross-border or pan-European channels are already available today and can provide an important test-bed for future panEuropean services. The launch of DVB-SH based mobile satellite TV services is expected for next year in Europe.

The Technologies MBMS (Mobile Broadcast MultiCast Service) At present, mobile TV content is streamed to mobile terminals/handsets in a point-to-point connection, which is not cost-effective. A point-to-multipoint communication can broadcast the same content to a large number of viewers. This is where MBMS or Mobile Broadcast Multicast Service steps in to help the network operators. MBMS is standardized by 3GPP as part of the WCDMA evolution and will be available for both GSM/EDGE and WCDMA connections. In MBMS, with point-to-multipoint (PTM) paradigm, ideal for mobile TV, data packets are simultaneously transmitted from a single source to multiple destinations. Unlike in the unicast paradigm, where data packets are transmitted from a single source to a single person. The MBMS technology allows a group of people interested in a particular program, in a particular area, to watch the same program simultaneously, via both existing GSM as well as UMTS networks. The MBMS technology supports HSPA in a situation where higher loads have to be transmitted in dense areas, saving significant network capacity and enabling a more efficient use of network resources, which ultimately results in cost saving for network operators. MBMS is also included as a supported technology in Long Term Evolution.

Today, most mobile TV services worldwide are based on two-way point-to-point data transmission using unicast. Once MBMS is introduced commercially, which is expected in this year, the same content can be delivered to a mass number of terminals in a single transmission via multicast. But it doesn't mean that the introduction of MBMS will invalidate unicast. While MBMS can be used for the most popular programs for a registered multicast group, unicast can be used to deliver on-demand videos to the same group in a cost-effective way. This unique unicast-MBMS model will help achive personalization as well as delivering content to a mass market. As MBMS requires only minor changes to the existing radio and core network protocols, it reduces the implementation cost of infrastructures like terminals and networks. With its capacity-boosting features, MBMS aims at stimulating the development of new and mobile mass-media services, generating revenue opportunity for network operators and content providers. It will enable service providers to offer cost-effective triple-play services for mobile handheld devices over a common service and network infrastructure. Before MBMS is introduced in the market, device manufacturers also have to come up with low-power consuming cell phone batteries, essential to support data intensive applications, and handsets for high memory capacity to support the high buffer requirements of mobile TV.

DVB-H When DVB-T was first published in 1997, it wasn’t designed to target mobile receivers. However, following very positive experimental results, DVB-T mobile services were launched in Singapore and Germany, with extensive commercial trials elsewhere. Indeed, with the advent of diversity antenna receivers, services which target fixed reception can now largely be received on the move as well. So why DVB-H? Battery life! Despite the success of mobile DVB-T reception, the major concern with any handheld device is that of battery life. Power consumption of DVB-T front ends is too high to support handheld receivers that are expected to last from one to several days on a single charge. The other major requirements for DVB-H is the ability to receive 15Mbit/s in an 8MHz channel and in a wide area single frequency network (SFN) at high speed. These requirements were drawn up after much debate and with an eye on emerging convergence devices providing video services and other broadcast data services to 2.5G, 3G and future handheld devices. Furthermore, all this should be possible while maintaining maximum compatibility with existing DVB-T networks and systems. In order to meet the above requirements, the DVB-H specification includes: Time-Slicing Rather than continuous data transmission as in DVB-T, DVB-H employs a mechanism where bursts of data are received at a time – a so-called IP datacast carousel. This means that the receiver is inactive for much of the time, and can thus, by means of clever control signalling, be "switched off". The result is a power saving of some 90% and more in some cases.

4K-mode With the addition of a 4K mode with some 3409 active carriers, DVB-H benefits from the compromise between the high-speed small-area SFN capability of 2K DVB-T and the lower speed but larger area SFN of 8K DVB-T. In addition, with the aid of enhanced in-depth interleavers in the 2K and 4K modes, DVB-H has even better immunity to ignition interference. MPE-FEC The addition of an optional, multiplexer level, forward error correction scheme means that DVB-H transmissions can be even more robust. This is advantageous when considering the hostile environments and poor but sexy antenna designs typical of handheld receivers. Like DVB-T, DVB-H can be used in 6, 7 and 8 MHz channel environments. However, a 5MHz option is also specified for use in non-broadcast environments. A key initial requirement, and a significant feature of DVB-H, is that it can co-exist with DVB-T in the same multiplex. Thus, an operator can choose to have 2 DVB-T services and one DVB-H service in the same overall DVB-T multiplex. DVB-H today encompasses a powerful tool to address new markets for DVB services.

WiMax Based The evolution from 3G to 4G (non LTE) is set to be stimulated by services that offer enhanced quality. Quality indicators span increased bandwidth, elevated sophistication in terms of large-scale information provision, and improved customization capabilities. The maturity of key 4G technologies such as OFDMA, MIMO, and optimized MAC scheduling algorithms realize a range of desirable features. These include enhanced handover and mobility, major infrastructure design requirements that promote a rapid response, elevated session rates, increased capacity, reduced user charges, swift return on investment (ROI) for operators, and simplified autonomous terminals. WiMAX, in this context, describes an interesting choice for pre-4G technology. Its rapid time to market provides an ALL IP flat network solution that can complement existing 2G/3G networks so as to deliver mobile TV and video services with a guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS). Based on the mobile access methods mentioned above, there exist a variety of competing technologies that are available for mobile TV service provision. The three main categories cover mobile and broadcast networks and DVB-SH for satellite. The availability of multiple broadcasting technologies offers operators more options to choose from, and vendors richer experiences in mobile TV solutions. Additionally, the competition between different technologies is necessary to promote the development of mobile TV. Given that 3G networks are currently under utilized, some mobile operators are offering streamed TV and video content at highly attractive prices to encourage consumers to adopt and use their services. WiMAX TDD, which operates under a duplexing mode, is best suited for data applications and advanced antenna technologies. The rapid scheduling of uplinks and downlinks realizes bandwidth requirements for different applications. Flexible and diversified mobile TV and video service business models are facilitated, which results in maximized profit margins for operators. The WiMAX Forum MCBCS sub team has been aggressively pursuing related standard development. In terms of network deployment, operators are broadly concerned with economic development, rapid ROI coupled with a

long-term evolution potential that protects investment, device availability, appropriate pricing, and smooth upgrade capabilities can accommodate nascent applications. WiMAX is based upon a 2-layer ALL IP network architecture and is widely regarded as a cost-effective means to provide VoIP and data services. The WiMAX Forum is committed to enabling MCBCS with minimal changes to existing networks in order to support mobile TV & video. Mobile WiMAX claims a long-term and smooth transition route towards 802.16m, which allows a network to support peak data rates with at least 6.5bps/Hz for downlinks, and 2.8bps/Hz for uplinks. Particularly with 802.16m, a dedicated carrier will be allocated for MCBCS. Optimized switching between broadcast and unicast services can be achieved, and the maximum MCBCS channel reselection interruption time is 1 second for intra frequency and 1.5 seconds for inter frequency. The above analysis underpins the belief that 3Gbased enterprises should boost ARPU by taking advantage of the unused capacity and availability that can be found in multicast broadcast technology. This can fulfill the needs of mobile TV & video service users who form a third of the mobile Internet market. However, both unicast and multicast based on a non MBMS 3G network may be prohibitive in a mass market context. High levels of investment are necessary for the deployment of proprietary mobile TV technologies based on satellite networks. Satellite, therefore, is only a temporary or complementary choice to broadcast architectures. WiMAX MCBCS, claims to render multicast cost-competitive with broadcast technology, and it is scalable to serve the mass market. Thus, it forms a long term solution for the mass consumption of mobile TV & video applications. On the access network side, there are base stations (BSs) and a gateway. In the core network, a MBS Controller (MBSC) is connected to the content server that can operate under the control of an operator or a third party. AAA is employed to perform authentication and authorization with appropriate user profile information, collect billing information, and then send it to the Business Operation Support System (BOSS). The two ways to provide mobile TV are through unicast and broadcast, and they differ in three basic aspects: channels (dedicated or common), requirements (individual or general), and tariffs (high or low). Mobile TV services usually embody a basic service need in the form of programs with mass appeal. Examples include live sporting events and real-time news. Payto- view prime time programs target a given user group with specific interests, and these are not necessarily live programs. Therefore, Wimax deployment (as in the case of MBMS) suggests using broadcast for basic services and unicast for targeted services. Social Powered Audio Visual Architecture: From the mobile TV multi media technologies stated above, MBMS seems to be the closest to allowing enhanced user/crowd controlled interaction. Indeed MBMS (if at some point suppliers abandon their walled garden approach and “open” there tcp stack towards other internet applications) is the technology that can most easily be adapted to the prevailing web 2.0 requirements which are :

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Participation: social networks, recommendations, blogging, user generated content, collaborative filtering, profile correlation, ranking, folksonomies, tag clouds Standards: standards for application and service interaction similar to web services, XML, or common AJAX principles Decentralization: power and flexibility from distribution, computing, and support of assets and applications over many computers and systems rather than centralized maintenance Openness: creating critical mass and shortening innovation cycles through open and transparent access to assets and applications Modularity: flexible combination of modules creates value that is greater than the sum of its parts Reusability: recycling, deconstruction, and reconstruction of assets and applications for new services, functions, and assets User Control: give users control to participate, but also control about their the assets and applications they create, their activities, and their identities Identity: allow control and application of different identities for different purposes

The user participation, openness, and decentralization should not be mistaken for loss of control over access or usage of assets and applications. Mobile TV defines one more enabler of digital entertainment. As such, its positioning has to support the control of a strategic business alignment of technologies, markets, and content. While DVB-H is a pure broadcast technology, with an established business model and a strong marketing research reference (ie. 50 + years of television) MBMS (and even more so WiMAx mobile tv offerings) is caught in a crossfire. On the one hand MBMS is an interactive technology (like IPTV) but on the other hand, the strategy (position and evolutionary) followed by telecom suppliers (they are after all telecom suppliers) is that of a broadcast technology. The result of this strategy is that MBMS ends up as a hotel video on demand service on a handheld when clearly users have indicated other preferences and usage habits for mobile (handheld) multimedia (example : citizen journalism) as opposed to fixed (IPTV) multi media. This may dangerously push MBMS towards oblivion if steps are not take to reexamine, rethink and realign the positioning of this excellent technology.