September 10, 2004
Technology in Focus features analysis of recent technology news articles, by the consultants in Technology Group, IDA. This is the top pick of the month from a list of 10-20 news analysis compiled monthly.
Mobile Multimedia Services - Will a New TV Broadcasting Standard that Bypasses Mobile Operators Networks be a Boost or a Threat to Mobile Data, by Julian Bright, Total Telecom Magazine, July 2004
by Toh Bee Eng, Senior Consultant, Network Technologies
The article reported that Nokia will be launching its first commercial DVB-H phone in 2005, and has mentioned an unnamed telecommunications industry analyst was quoted as saying that there will be 100 million DVB-H capable handsets worldwide in 2007, growing to 300 million by 2009.
What exactly does the DVB-H do? Broadcasting has brought infotainment to the mass audiences for nearly a century. During the first 50-60 years, the development of broadcast technology was based on analogue technology. Digital broadcasting technology was introduced about 10 years now and has begun to reshape the global broadcasting landscape.
DVB-H is taking the concept one step ahead, adding support to handheld devices such as mobile phones and PDAs for broadcast reception. The technology aims to combine the digital broadcast and Internet Protocol to provide an end-to-end broadcast system capable of delivering any types of digital content and services using IP-based mechanisms. It comprises of a unidirectional DVB broadcast path and a bi-directional mobile cellular interactivity path. It is a platform for convergence of services from mobile cellular and broadcast media domains.
Although the DVB-H has created significant interest in the broadcast and telecommunications worlds, the new standard is still progressing through the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). The DVB TM ad hoc group has a mission to convert the IP Datacast in DVB-H to IPDC technical requirements and specifications this year. On the other hand, there is a need to harmonise the spectrum usage decisions put in-placed by regulators worldwide to facilitate the development of global market for IP Datacast service. DVB-H trials are reported in Germany (Berlin), Finland (Helsinki), US (Pittsburgh) as well as here in Singapore. Such trials are important for system verification and will help frequency planning, and improve understanding of the complex issue of interoperability with telecommunications networks and service.
Some words about the writer
Toh Bee Eng is a senior consultant with the Technology Group, tasked with the responsibility of identifying and driving the adoption of emerging telecommunication technologies in Singapore. She specializes in cellular network technologies.
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