Cingular, Sprint, and Verizon currently provide services that let you watch mobile TV. T-Mobile is not among the mobile TV providers at this time because it lacks a high-speed 3G data network. These mobile TV services, by and large, are almost entirely packaged video clips, with the notable exception of a handful of live channels available from Sprint. (See the “What’s Available Now In The United States?” sidebar for details.) All of these services cost extra. You can expect to pay anywhere from $10 to $25 per month on top of your current voice and (unlimited) data plans.

Why 3G Isn’t The Answer

The new 3G data networks are fast enough for streaming video to a limited number of users, but they’re not the final answer. The problem is in the way the networks are designed. If you have 200 people who want to watch a video clip simultaneously, the network has to carry 200 bandwidth-eating data streams at the same time, dedicating one full stream to each user. That gobbles up network capacity at a breathtaking clip. Although streaming video over 3G is a satisfactory solution for a relatively small number of people, as mobile TV takes off, the resulting amount of traffic will easily overwhelm the data networks.

Consider what happens when you’re watching video while surfing the Web on your PC. You often have to wait a few seconds for video to buffer before playback begins, and then the video plays correctly. But if the site you’re visiting is experiencing heavy traffic, you’ll experience dropouts, hiccups, and stutters in the video delivery. The same thing will happen with streaming video on mobile phones.

How do you solve this problem? Use a “one-to-many” broadcast solution, similar to the way terrestrial television works. In this case, one source broadcasts the signal to many thousands of TV sets (or cell phones, in this case), all of which can “tune in” and listen to the signal. This means that we all would need new handsets that are capable of receiving a broadcast mobile TV signal. And each handset would need a miniature TV tuner inside in order to pick up the signal.

Mobile Broadcast TV Standards

Over the past 18 months, several mobile broadcast TV standards have emerged. You’ll find two of these standards (and a variety of handsets that support them yet are not available in the United States) mainly in South Korea and Europe. A third standard is in the development stages and scheduled for deployment stateside.

These first-round attempts at broadcast mobile TV are quite stunning in their video and audio quality. Many of them show video at or around a 320 x 240 resolution, which about doubles that of current streaming video clips on cell phones in the United States. The video runs at a maximum of 30fps (frames per second), which is about double what you’ll see with current 3G networks in the states. Here’s a rundown of the three competing standards:

DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld) is backed by a number of high-profile vendors, including Nokia and Motorola. DVB-H uses time slicing, a method of dividing up the live TV stream into a series of small, compressed data chunks (about 0.2 seconds long), along with longer periods of downtime where the phone enters a power-saving mode (for about 4.8 seconds). The protocol also uses error correction to compensate for signal interference.

DVB-H is fast becoming the European standard for digital broadcast television. Pilot programs have appeared in several metro areas in the UK, Spain, and France, among other countries. Modeo and Hiwire both announced DVB-H networks for deployment in the United States, and they will compete for market share among Cingular, Sprint, and T-Mobile customers over the course of 2007. Verizon customers will be able to use MediaFLO, which we will detail later.

DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcast) is the current and only standard in South Korea. It transmits data on the radio frequency bands UHF and VHF. LG and Samsung are currently the only companies that are behind this protocol, though interestingly, both have already announced handsets capable of delivering DVB-H and MediaFLO content, as well. DMB purports to offer a high-quality signal with less drain on batteries than DVB-H. Chances are very slim at this time that we will see a DMB solution in the United States anytime soon.

MediaFLO, Qualcomm’s multicast solution for the United States, uses the FLO (Forward Link Only) protocol. Qualcomm and Verizon announced a partnership involving MediaFLO technology, and each is expected to release MediaFLO-capable handsets later this year. All of these handsets will work in many of the metro areas that currently support EVDO (Evolution Data Optimized).

Unlike DVB-H and DMB, both of which are modifications to existing terrestrial TV standards, Qualcomm designed MediaFLO from the ground up to be a mobile broadcast service. Media-FLO will support relatively fast channel switching (under two seconds), 320 x 240 QVGA resolution, and playback rates at up to 30fps. Expect around 15 channels of live television, plus a total of 50 to 100 channels when providers include packaged video clips along with high-quality stereo audio.

If They Build It, Who Will Come?

No one knows exactly how interested consumers are in mobile TV. Although the three carriers currently offering various mobile TV services have hundreds of thousands of subscribers, that’sa drop in the bucket compared to the aforementioned 180 million cell phone users in the United States alone. Is there really a market for this technology?

With current Mobi-TV and V CAST powered offerings, trying to sort out which channels are actual live television (hint: very few, if any) and which are just packaged clips (hint: virtually all of it) can be an exercise in frustration, especially while scanning menus on your cell phone’s tiny display. You need an unlimited data plan to start with, which can cost $20 per month or more. You will pay a monthly fee on top of that for the mobile TV service. Some analysts think there is potential for an ad-based, free revenue model, however that’s only speculation at this point.

Perhaps the biggest question is the nature of the video content itself. We don’t expect anyone to watch the latest “Battlestar Galactica” episode in a thumbnail-sized window; you’d barely be able to make out the spaceships in the battle sequences. Besides, most people don’t have half an hour or more to watch a complete show on their cell phones. A more reasonable assumption is that you’d have a couple of minutes to watch a quick clip while you’re standing in line at the coffee shop or waiting for your dry cleaning. If you have an hour, you’d probably watch the show on a normal-sized television, or you’d haul out your laptop on a long flight and watch a DVD instead.

Now, you may be wondering what kind of content is suited for cell phones. If the current array of packaged video clips is any indication, you would see news, sports highlights, music videos, and short, behind-the-scenes documentaries. Episodic television and full-length movies seem to be beyond the scope of mobile TV at the moment, Cingular’s recent HBO mini-episodes notwithstanding. Regardless, the battle for mobile broadcast video is just beginning. It seems like mobile TV is coming one way or another, but it remains to be seen who will sign up.

by Jamie Lendino

What’s Available In The United States? Carriers such as Verizon and Sprint offer small “bites” of video that you can watch any time you have some downtime. Few of these video clips are actual live television; providers prepare many of the clips, which sometimes contain news and sports highlights or other entertaining content, in advance. Here’s an overview of the available service options: Cingular. The nation’s largest carrier is certainly taking its time rolling out its 3G high-speed network. Fortunately for the relatively few cities that do support it, Cingular Video works well, offering packaged clips and some exclusive-to-Cingular HBO video. None of Cingular’s offerings include live channels. Sprint. The only carrier to offer true live television, Sprint TV lets you watch a variety of TV channels over its EVDO (Evolution Data Optimized) network. Despite the lack of a true broadcast solution (such as DVB-H [Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld] or DMB [Digital Multimedia Broadcast]), the Sprint service works well, with a clear (if extremely tiny) picture and a stable frame rate. Sprint also offers packaged video clips to fill out holes in its live channel stable, although sorting through the myriad pricing options can give you a headache. T-Mobile. Unfortunately, subscribers to the nation’s smallest major network don’t have access to video content, either packaged clips or live channels. T-Mobile is the only carrier that doesn’t have a 3G network; without that you can’t really have a reliable streaming video solution. Verizon. V CAST, a $15 per month service from Verizon, delivers a smorgasbord of video clips from dozens of popular channels including CNN, NBC, and ESPN; cartoons; stand-up comedy; and more. At the time of this writing, Verizon didn’t offer live channels for viewing.

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