New UK mobile TV trial unveiled

3UK, Orange, Telefonica and Vodafone have teamed up to trial yet another broadcast mobile TV technology in the UK. The trial uses a so-called TDtv platform provided by IPWireless, based on the Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Services (MBMS) standard.

MBMS allows 3G operators to offer bandwidth-heavy mobile TV, audio and another IP datacast services using existing 3G spectrum, without impacting core voice and data traffic on the main network.

This is the fourth broadcast mobile TV technology to make it to the UK, following the O2/Arqiva trials of DVB-H earlier this year, BSkyB's ongoing work with Qualcomm's MediaFLO platform and Virgin Mobile's launch of DAB-IP based services this month.

Professor Michael Walker, director of R&D at Vodafone said: "In the case of mobile TV, there are a number of technologies emerging that must be fully explored so that we have a comprehensive understanding of how the technologies work and the experience they will offer. Currently the most interesting technologies are the variants of MBMS and DVB-H.”

TDtv base stations have been deployed on 12 cell sites covering parts of Bristol in the UK.

Content and handset software for the MBMS trial is being provided by MobiTV, which already powers 3G streaming mobile TV services for Orange and 3UK.

Technorati tags: mobile TV