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NEWS:
Deployments of
LTE continue
upward trend
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A
NEW study from ABI Research has revealed a growing number
of wireless communications operators making a firm commitment
to deploying LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks and offering
LTE-based services to their subscribers in 2010. ABI has
found that at least 12 operators will have rolled out
LTE-based services in 2010 and forecasts that by the following
year nearly 34 million users worldwide will subscribe
to the new ultra-fast data services that LTE promises,
with theoretical data rates in the same range as those
currently available via cable or DSL. Such speeds will
be ideal to support applications such as mobile TV and
video in broadcast, and potentially HD, quality. The first
operators intending to deploy LTE include Verizon Wireless,
MetroPCS Wireless, and U.S. Cellular in the United States;
NTT-DOCOMO and KDDI in Japan; TeliaSonera, Tele2 and Telenor
in Europe; and the world's largest operator, China Mobile,
which intends to launch in 2011. KT and SK Telecom are
expected to launch in Korea 2010, but there has been little
fanfare so far. The drive to LTE is most welcome news
for under pressure infrastructure equipment vendors. A
few operators have already announced the contracts they
have awarded. Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, and Starent have
won contracts from Verizon Wireless and in Japan, NTT-DOCOMO,
in addition to deploying technology from Ericsson, is
also supporting local vendors NEC and Fujitsu. In Scandinavia,
TeliaSonera has opted for Ericsson and Huawei, while Tele2
and Telenor are likely to revel soon a deal with Huawei.
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NEWS:
Japan & Korea
storm ahead in
mobile TV use
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JAPAN
and Korea have stormed ahead of Europe and North America
in mass uptake of mobile multimedia, according to the
latest Global Telecoms Insights (GTI) study by TNS.
The research firm says that across the developed Asia
region, investments in infrastructure, improving network
speeds, a focus on innovation and affordable flat-rate
data plans have resulted in the world's most advanced
in mobile technology adoption. In terms of market growth,
the study calculated that the number of consumers using
mobile TV features in Japan and Korea more than doubled
over the last twelve months, rising from 14% to 32%.
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MESSAGE
FROM THE EDITOR...
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 IN
2005, in the very first issue of C2M magazine, Nicholas
Wheeler, then ITN’s managing director of multimedia
content, gave this warning “We are being cautious
as to how we progress, and we progress in line with what
we afford to spend; it could all go pear shaped”.
Indeed. And one of the things that was making Wheeler
be so cautious was the lack on a widespread scale of handsets
capable of receiving mobile TCV and video. “Oh that
it was in my gift to ensure that,” he added somewhat
wistfully. It would be interesting to know what Wheeler
was thinking on 19 June this year when not only did Apple
make available in the UK the iPhone 3G S, Nokia also launched
its flagship mobile multimedia device the N97. In the
four years since Wheeler’s comments, it cannot be
argued that there are enough devices out there. That is
simply not the gating issue that it was. Mobile video
is now in the mainstream: just look at the TV ad for the
new iPhone which stresses in the first sentence the fact
that it does video. If you were right now to upgrade your
‘normal’ mobile phone, chances are the operator
will offer you a device well capable of supporting mobile
TV and video as standard. And there’s a burgeoning
array of apps and content to look at. In short, mobile
video and TV has, technologically arrived. The issue now
is how to make money from it. This latest C2M newsletter
will give you some pointers as to how this may happen
and contains details on the Mobile Zone at IBC2009 where
you’ll be able to see this in real life and also
discover what will be the state-of-the art in mobile TV
and video. Enjoy as ever...
Joe O'Halloran, Editor of C2M
magazine & the C2M e-zine
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TOP
MOBILE
INDUSTRY PLAYERS
SIGN UP TO IBC
2009 MOBILE ZONE |
THE
companies who are setting the pace in the current mobile
TV and video markets are quickly signing up to this year's
MobileZone at IBC 2009. The Mobile Zone will run from
11 - 15 September 2009 at the RAI, Amsterdam during IBC,
Europe's leading broadcast exhibition. Confirmed Mobile
Zone attendees include
bmcoforum,
Vidiator,
Decontis,
Streamezzo,
Mobiclip,
Expway, Gemalto,
LARCAN,
Lumantek,
Unique
Broadband Systems, Nufrontsoft,
DiBcom,
weComm,
Nokia
Siemens Networks, Rubberduck
Medialab, and Fora.
Now in its fifth year, the MobileZone has continued to
develop to reflect IBC's global reach and influence provides
a unique opportunity for application developers, content
providers and technology companies to showcase their capabilities
at the centre of the broadcast industry's leading international
conference and exhibition.
  The
raison d'être of the Mobile Zone is to provide an
opportunity for application developers, content providers
and technology companies to showcase their capabilities
at the centre of the broadcast industry's leading international
conference and exhibition. In addition to showcasing the
latest developments in mobile TV and 3G services, the
Mobile Zone will feature the latest innovations in mobile
devices and explore their impact on the creation, management
and delivery of content. The accompanying IBC Mobile Zone
Business Briefings will examine some of the issues and
opportunities arising from this revolution in mobility
in further detail. One of three streams running throughout
the IBC2009 conference will be ‘the business of broadcasting’,
which will tackle the dramatic changes in commercial models
currently challenging the industry. Central to the conference
is the IBC keynote address, this year given by Erik Huggers,
director of future media and technology at the BBC.
 The
keynote Huggers will deliver is called “Identifying
Growth Areas in the Broadcasting Industry”, but he
will speak on the whole gamut of electronic media. His
background makes him uniquely qualified to cover the breadth
of the subject: before joining BBC he was with Microsoft
where he helped establish Windows Media in Europe, and
prior to that he worked on interactive media at leading
European production company Endemol Entertainment. During
his time at the BBC he has overseen the rapid development
of the iPlayer catch-up service, for radio as well as
television. This has proved staggeringly popular, with
256 million TV programme downloads in its first full year
of operation, and has set the bar for other broadcasters
worldwide when developing their online presence.
“When
planning the IBC2009 conference it is of course right
that, in the current economic climate, we look at the
business side of our industry,” says David Crawford,
chair of the conference committee. “We simply cannot
bury our heads in the sand: we have to tackle the massive
shifts in commercial balance. These are as
much
driven
by new technologies as economic circumstances, so IBC
is clearly the right forum for this debate.”
For 2009 the IBC conference has been re-organized to run
along three parallel streams: technological advancements,
content creation and innovation, and the business of broadcasting.
Within each stream there is a full program of papers,
workshops, panels and debates. The Erik Huggers keynote
is at 11am on Friday 11 September. The MobileZone at IBC2009,
is being jointly developed and marketed by IBC, IT Europa
and BPL Business Media. For more information visit
www.ibc.org
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APPLE
SETS NEW STANDARDS
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 IT
WOULDN'T exactly been a case of having the Wisdom of Solomon
to predict that the launch of the iPhone 3GS would be
popular. As dead certs in the telecoms market go, this
was one. What perhaps nobody expected was just how popular
the launch was going to be and how so soon. Less than
three weeks after the launch of the new device, the product
has broken records. Not just for Apple in terms of products
shipped but also in terms of downloads of new operating
software, mobile apps and in what may be a game-changing
portent, in terms of the future of mobile video in general.
But back to basics, and basically the launch of the iPhone
3GS now means that mobile video is now in the mainstream.
For evidence of this, just look at the TV ad for the new
iPhone which stresses in the first sentence the fact that
it does video. And for video applications, Apple claims
that iPhone 3G S allows users to render web pages quicker
and launch applications faster. iPhone 3G S takes advantage
of the OpenGL ES 2.0 standard for high-quality 3D graphics
designed to make mobile video and other graphic intense
applications better than ever. With the added battery
life, Apple is confident that users will simply be able
to watch more video.
And
for users Apple means a lot of people. By 22 June, Apple
today announced that it had sold over one million iPhone
3GS models up to 21 June, the third day after its launch
in the US, the UK and other key markets. In addition,
six million customers downloaded the new iPhone 3.0 software
in the first five days since its release. Shrugging off
press reports of the affect his well-publicised illness
and subsequent absence would have on the company, Apple's
CEO Steve Jobs, said, "iPhone momentum is stronger
than ever."
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