WASHINGTON—Qualcomm Inc. gained approval Wednesday for an agreement it reached with TV stations serving Chicago, Milwaukee and Gary, Ind. that will allow the company to move forward with its MediaFlo steaming content plans.
MediaFlo is a one-way, high-speed network using spectrum Qualcomm obtained after a bitter dispute with the Federal Communications Commission dating back to the early 1990’s.
Qualcomm reached agreements with Paxson Communications Corp., licensee of WPXE in Kenosha, Wis., and Northwest Indiana Public Broadcasting Inc., licensee of WYIN(TV) in Gary, Ind.
“We find that grant of the application is in the public interest,” said Barbara Kreisman, chief of the video division of the FCC’s Media Bureau, and Roger Noel, chief of the mobility division of the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
Using the nationwide license for TV channel 55, Qualcomm is building a network to offer mobile TV services based on its proprietary MediaFlo technology. The chipmaker hopes to allow carriers a way to offload data-heavy video services onto a dedicated network, preserving cellular infrastructures for other on-demand video, voice calls and Internet access.
Verizon Wireless has announced plans to use MediaFlo, and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and LG Electronics Co. Ltd. recently announced plans to build phones for the offering.
Since TV channel 55 is part of the 700 MHz band being cleared by broadcasters as they transition to digital, Qualcomm must enter into private agreements to clear the spectrum prior to the congressionally-mandated end to the DTV transition in February 2009. The FCC then must approve the agreements.
Qualcomm is racing with Crown Castle International Corp.’s Modeo subsidiary to launch a nationwide mobile TV network. Crown Castle is working with Nokia Corp. on a competing network it hopes to launch next year using DVB-H technology. European operators including Vodafone Group plc and O2 plc are testing DVB-H mobile TV networks in Europe. Crown Castle has yet to announce a carrier customer for its network.
