It starts with delivery
The choice of technology platform is just one element of delivery-and delivery just one consideration-in the riddle that is mobile TV. Commercial imperatives drive all, and are also dependent on such aspects as consumer viewing habits, handset development, content licensing and government regulatory environment. Yet it is with delivery that the whole mobile TV enterprise gets moving, and delivery infrastructure that represents a significant proportion of capital outlay.

Consequently, the question of which delivery model proves best, and most cost-effective, is one of high interest.

Speculation is compounded by the existence of several different industry players. On the one hand, there are the mobile communications carriers. These have an existing subscriber base and perceive mobile TV as a means of extending and differentiating their service. Many have introduced third-generation (3G) mobile TV services based on universal mobile telecommunications service (UMTS) in recent months, while at the same time partnering broadcast-based mobile TV trials.

It is generally well accepted that UMTS-based mobile TV has limitations. The service is here and available now, but the unicast (one-to-one) nature of UMTS means that as the viewer base grows, mobile TV will not be sustainable on this platform-even as UMTS heads towards '3G long term evolution' (3G LTE) or in-band cellular broadcast techniques such as multimedia broadcast/multicast service (MBMS). Recent reports have suggested that it makes more sense to use the spectrum for wireless data services that can be charged at a higher rate than can television.

Mobile carriers are therefore turning to broadcast models for mobile TV. Their quest to utilize existing base station sites has led to the 'cellular overlay' model for mobile TV, where broadcast infrastructure is deployed at mobile base stations to provide mobile TV coverage in a similar way to a cell-based mobile network.