DAB Leads Mobile TV Race

February 10th, 2006 – DAB-based Mobile TV technology is successfully extending its lead over other Mobile TV technologies with the first full commercial launch of DMB in Korea in 2005 and further commercial roll-out expected throughout 2006.

DMB is part of the DAB family of compatible standards, and already delivers digital radio, multimedia and Mobile TV. The DAB family also offers a DAB-IP Mobile TV option, successfully endorsed by BT Movio in the UK, making DAB the preferred standard of choice for multimedia delivery on the move.

Advanced trials of Mobile TV using DAB-based technology are live in 18 centres around the world, with DMB services set to deploy commercially in key markets including Germany and China in 2006. This market-leading system is available now to launch Mobile TV services without having to wait for consumer technology, standards setting, network infrastructure or spectrum.

Whilst other technologies are being developed for Mobile TV, none is as commercially advanced, viable, robust, reliable or flexible as DAB’s solutions. The DMB solution is ready to roll out and is the technology of choice to start Mobile TV now, giving operators first-to-market advantage. In many countries, not only is spectrum already available, but network infrastructure is often in place and Tier 1 manufacturers are shipping mass production DMB receivers

The success of DAB lies in its ability to deliver DMB or DAB-IP Mobile TV together with DAB radio within a single system. DAB was developed from the outset specifically for mobile receivers and was not re-engineered for mobile from another system. DAB, DMB and DAB-IP all share the same infrastructure, spectrum, transmission protocol and receiver components which gives an unmatched flexibility, speed and economy of scale to any deployment.

Key DMB advantages:

• Full consumer launch in Korea in December 2005 

• Commercial launch in Europe and China in 2006 

• 100,000 receivers sold in less than 2 months by Samsung, LG and Perstel 

• 500,000 receivers shipping to China
 
 2+ million sales forecast by the end of 2006 

• Global standard. DAB and DMB standardised by ETSI
 
• Lowest risk, scalable implementation. 

• Cost-effective universal coverage of rural and urban areas 
 
Key DAB-IP advantages

• DAB-IP based service set to launch in the UK mid 2006 

• Radio and Mobile TV with full digital radio and TV EPG (Electronic Programme Guide) 

• Mass production handset to launch at 3GSM
 

Live DMB Pilot at 3GSM

DMB Mobile TV broadcasts will be live in Barcelona throughout 3GSM via a collaboration between WorldDAB, the Government of Catalonia, , leading Spanish infrastructure and telecommunication provider Abertis Telecom, the Catalan Broadcasting Corporation and leading provider of DAB/DMB systems Factum Electronics. Pixtree of Korea will be providing the necessary DMB encoders. The demonstration will be on air until the end of February. Two DMB video channels will be available and accessible on mobile devices provided by Samsung, LG Electronics and Perstel.

Congress attendees will be able to see DMB demonstrated on the following booths: Samsung Telecommunication (Hall 8, stands A02B & CY10), LG Electronics (Hall 8, stand A01), Frontier Silicon (Hall 1, stand D153), Siano (Hall 2, stand G50), OntimeTek (Hall 1, stand HS126) and Imagination Technologies (Hall 2, stand G37/G19).

DAB-IP at 3GSM

BT Movio is utilising the DAB-IP platform to launch the first wholesale broadcast mobile entertainment service to be made available in the UK. The service will offer a white-label broadcast digital TV and radio service for mobile operators. At this year's 3GSM World Congress, BT Movio will also unveil the world's first DAB-IP enabled Smartphone which will deliver a "real" TV experience on a mobile device for consumers.

Congress attendees will be able to see DAB-IP demonstrated on the following booths: Microsoft (Hall 1, stand C41, booth 12), TTP (Hall 1, stand D119).

Key facts about Mobile TV Now!

There are two ways of delivering video and multimedia services to mobile devices via DAB:

The principal method is DMB, the technology originally developed in conjunction with Korea and its mobile phone industries. DMB uses MPEG 4 coding system via stream mode over DAB.

The other way to deliver video over DAB is via an IP-application in conjunction with DAB’s Enhanced Packet Mode standard. This is called DAB-IP and is currently used in the UK by the BT Movio project.

Having a choice of methods is a key advantage for DAB as it offers flexibility and options for network operators to deploy according to their mobile network and handset interoperability requirements.

DAB multimedia services will work with both GSM and CDMA networks.

More on international DMB roll-out:

DMB is the first broadcast mobile TV delivery standard to have launched commercially. In Korea, services are on air, devices are available in shops and consumers are already signing up by the thousands.

Meanwhile, key trials are taking place in Germany, France, Holland, Norway, Italy, Spain, and China.

• Germany will lead a major DMB trial in 2006 focused on the World Cup. The Mi Friends project, as it is called, has received official status as a European project with a budget of around 18 million euros over the next two years. The Mi Friends project involves a three month trial in Munich, focused on the World Cup, and a two year trial in Regensburg, Bodensee and Lake Constance. A separate commercial trial will also run for two years from a Berlin based L band national multiplex. 

• In France, a six month trial of DMB was launched in Paris in September following a request to the French regulator, CSA, by digital network provider VDL. Partnered with VDL in the trial are the main French TV broadcasting group, TF1, and manufacturers Samsung, LG and Perstel. 

• In China, where many DAB digital radios are made, 80 million people in Guangdong Province can receive DMB services. Trials began in Beijing in 2005 broadcasting two DAB radio services to 12 million people. Six more services are planned. 
 
More on DAB-IP services roll-out:

• In the UK, the BT Movio pilot project, which uses the DAB-IP platform to deliver audio, video and data to a mobile receiver, recently concluded. BT expects to become the first wholesale mobile broadcast entertainment service in the UK when the service is launched commercially later this year. BT will be unveiling the first mass production GSM handset with Mobile TV and DAB digital radio 

• Pilot trails of DAB-IP are also slated to commence in China and Taiwan later this year. 
 
About The World DAB Forum

The World DAB Forum is an international, non-governmental organisation whose role is to promote the awareness, adoption and implementation of DAB and its family of standards worldwide. Its members include broadcasters, manufacturers, network operators and other companies and bodies committed to converting the technology behind DAB into a commercial marketing success.

For more information please visit http://www.worlddab.org