CLEARWIRE CORP. AND ICO GLOBAL Communications Ltd. are trying something new with broadcast mobile TV. The two Craig McCaw-backed companies are collaborating on a new mobile TV trial that will use satellites to broadcast directly to mobile devices.
The trial marks the first time mobile television will be broadcast using digital video broadcast-satellite handheld technology, ICO Global Communications told RCR Wireless News. DVB-SH is a variant of DVB-H that relies on satellite for delivery.
Although DVB-SH is largely unproven (only satellite radio can be pointed to as a similar service that’s commercially launched) for mobile TV services, ICO is sure it has the right technology up its sleeve. Instead of being a one-way satellite feed, ICO’s service will be two-way, enabling enhanced interactive services through a GEO-Mobile Radio interface to complement the video component.
“I feel really very confident that that’s the right technology for us,” CEO Tim Bryan said.
The trial, which is set to begin early next year in Raleigh, N.C., will test the mobile video broadcast system and examine the feasibility of using Clearwire’s 2.5 GHz spectrum and ICO’s 2 GHz spectrum more efficiently. ICO is also planning a similar trial in Las Vegas, where terrestrial mobile TV providers MediaFLO USA Inc. and HiWire L.L.C. first launched their trials.
Larger screens
ICO isn’t looking to compete with its counterparts in the cellphone space, however. “We’re not focused on going to the handset, per se. We really believe in larger screens,” said Chris Doherty, VP of public relations at ICO. “We see a real demand for, you know, getting the seven- or eight-inch screen in the vehicle.”
The trial will use a simple box for the car that will carry a modem, antennae, DVB-SH and GMR chipsets, and a sizeable screen, Bryan said. “(It) might not be the prettiest looking device, but it’s going to be the precursor,” he said. “I don’t want to set the expectation too high for the trial.”
The satellite-based service will also carry a terrestrial component to it, thanks in part to ICO’s partnership with Clearwire. A terrestrial repeater network will be used to fill in coverage where shadowing might occur near buildings.
“This is mostly meant to be a mobile service so we’re not specifically targeting in-building penetration,” Bryan said. “It won’t have quite the in-building coverage of something like 700 MHz.”
ICO is hedging a serious bet on this service, which could cost the company up to $500 million to deploy. However, it will come with some immediate return potential, Bryan added.
One giant leap
“The biggest advantage of a satellite is the day after you launch it you have nationwide coverage,” he said. A rocket is scheduled to launch with the satellite in January.
“The first step is a real big one,” Bryan said. “But once it’s up it has a 25-year life.”
The inherent technological neutrality of the satellite works in ICO’s favor as well. It won’t carry a specific technology or purpose and can be changed to a newer technology at any time, Bryan said.
Clearwire connection
So what does Clearwire bring to the table, other than the fact Craig McCaw concurrently heads ICO as chairman of its board and Clearwire as its CEO and chairman?
“Our advantage is coverage, their advantage is capacity,” ICO’s Bryan said. Clearwire wants to add satellite-based emergency services and a mobile TV service to its offering while ICO is focused on developing a portable device that will incorporate mobile video, interactive navigation, wireless broadband, satellite interactivity and voice and data for emergency situations.
For the trial, ICO will integrate its mobile interactive media services, which delivers a variety of consumer entertainment and communications services, with Clearwire’s
broadband network.
The programming lineup coupled with a plethora of promised interactive features indeed appears to differentiate the service from all others currently available or in testing. GMR will deliver the interactive features that will include entertainment, guidance assistance, and emergency notification features that could range from alerting police of an airbag deployment or making an emergency call, Doherty said.
ICO is looking to offer somewhere between eight and 15 video channels upon launch, but may not test as many during the trial. Bryan wouldn’t disclose programming partners, saying only, “we’re shooting for some of the main categories that you would think of.”
Alcatel-Lucent has been selected to supply the system architecture and design based on the DVB-SH standard. Hughes Network Systems will provide the device to be used in the trial.
“Our next-generation wireless personal broadband networks are built to deliver data, voice and video over a single network,” Scott Richardson, chief strategy officer for Clearwire, said in a prepared statement. “Working with ICO to trial an interactive mobile video element that can potentially enhance our service offering not only in areas where we don’t intend to build our own network, but that can also potentially enhance the use of infrastructure and spectrum where our coverage overlaps, makes a lot of sense.”
