Call it hedging your bets.
Qualcomm Inc. said it is developing chipsets based on a rival mobile television standard-Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld, or DVB-H-even while it works to complete its own MediaFlo network in the United States.
Qualcomm is spending about $800 million to build its MediaFlo network, and, so far, Verizon Wireless has agreed to deliver MediaFlo content to its subscribers once the network is up and running. Qualcomm is both building the network and supplying MediaFlo chips to handset vendors. While Qualcomm expects to complete its mobile television network this year, it’s not yet clear when carriers will be able to offer the handsets and subscription plans to make the service available to the public.
MediaFlo’s main competition could come from Crown Castle International Corp., which is building a rival mobile TV network using DVB-H technology. Thus, Qualcomm is essentially hedging its bets by selling chips for both networks.
Qualcomm joins Texas Instruments Inc. and others in supplying chips for the DVB-H space.
Though Qualcomm has a historic dedication to licensing its own intellectual property, company spokesman Jeremy James cited numerous examples of Qualcomm’s interest in supporting non-proprietary technologies. For example, Qualcomm makes chipsets for both CDMA and W-CDMA devices.
Regarding Qualcomm’s interest in DVB-H, James said that because some European carriers are anticipated to favor the DVB-H standard, Qualcomm ultimately would benefit both from playing a role in European markets and growing the mobile TV market in general. Several domestic and international operators have begun to roll out mobile TV services.
While DVB-H was garnering chip commitments from Qualcomm, computer giant Microsoft Corp. announced that it’s backing the technology as a “founding member” of the Mobile DTV Alliance. Although the group formed in January, Microsoft only last week announced its membership despite its ranking as a founding member.
Microsoft joins Intel Corp., Modeo L.L.C., Motorola Inc., Nokia Corp. and Texas Instruments to push DVB-H.
Though Microsoft declined to comment as to why it didn’t disclose its founding-member status when the alliance first launched, Yoram Solomon, president of the Mobile DTV Alliance, said, “Microsoft joined at the formation of the alliance, rounding out our participation at every level of the wireless ecosystem. We are pleased to be able to announce its participation as a founding member.”
Solomon is also director of strategic marketing and industry relations at TI’s Mobile Connectivity Solutions business unit.
For its part, Microsoft emphasized that its mobile-optimized Microsoft Windows Media offering has already been deployed successfully in mobile broadcast solutions, including Modeo’s pilot of its DVB-H mobile broadcast network last year.
