Qualcomm (News - Alert) Incorporated released an announcement stating that they now have the ability to implement both MediaFLO and ISDB-T mobile TV standards on a multi-mode handset using a single chip.

 

Powered by Qualcomm's Universal Broadcast Modem (UBM) chipset, the technology demonstration shows that MediaFLO technology can complement the free-to-air ISDB-T One-Seg standard used in Japan and the ISDB-TB standard used in Brazil to make possible a mix of free and paid mobile broadcast content and services to drive consumer adoption and revenue.

 

Qualcomm is a provider of digital wireless communications products and services based on CDMA and other advanced technologies.

 

Service providers and broadcasters can provide free to air content using the ISDB-T standard and with MediaFLO technology a large number of pay TV channels and enhanced services. This is expected to increase the subscription revenue.

 

The MediaFLO mobile broadcast platform enables the delivery of television content as well as value-added audio, video, data and interactive services and provides a means for broadcasters and operators to enhance and monetize their existing International ISDB-T services. Qualcomm supports both mobile TV technologies on a single chip which allows handset OEMs to achieve economies of scale in producing multi-mode, TV-enabled phones without incurring a significant increase to their bill of material costs.

 

"To date, the mobile broadcast deployments in Asia have been successful in driving handset adoption, but so far have not generated a strong return on investment for the mobile TV service providers," said Neville Meijers, senior vice president and general manager of Qualcomm MediaFLO Technologies. "Demonstrating MediaFLO and International ISDB-T standards on a single, multi-mode handset illustrates a clear path for monetizing mobile TV services through a hybrid free / pay TV service offering that leverages the popularity of free TV with the revenue potential of subscription-based content and value added services."

 

Qualcomm's Universal Broadcast Modem is designed as a cohort to Qualcomm's CDMA2000 and WCDMA/UMTS Mobile Station Modem (MSM) chipsets. It efficiently supports MediaFLO system, as well as DVB-H and one-segment implementations of ISDB-T. The smaller form factors of the UBM remove the need for additional dedicated application processors for more power-efficient devices.

 

"As mobile TV is poised to grow exponentially, products such as Qualcomm's Universal Broadcast Modem deliver a unique advantage to device manufacturers by supporting three of the industry's leading standards in one chip," said Mike Concannon, senior vice president of product management for Qualcomm CDMA Technologies. "This milestone marks significant progress in bringing compelling mobile TV content to handsets around the world."