Sprint and Samsung: ‘Mobile WiMAX Is Ready’
As we went to press, Sprint and Samsung said that mobile WiMAX, which includes the version for stationary devices, is ready for commercial deployment. The two said Samsung’s mobile WiMAX network infrastructure gear and unspecified Samsung WiMAX devices have passed Sprint’s “rigorous commercial acceptance criteria with flying colors.” The criteria included overall performance, handoff performance as devices move from one antenna to another and handoff delay.
Sprint conducted the test in its XOHM labs and in a network it’s building using Samsung gear in the Baltimore and Washington DC area.
Sprint plans on launching a WiMAX service in those cities later this year.
Sprint did not mention the status of the Chicago tests where it is testing Motorola network gear with unspecified devices.
The testing milestones for the Samsung test were:
- First data session in the lab - June 2007
- First data session on the live network - October 2007
- Successful interoperability testing with multiple other device vendors - April 2008
“This is a major step towards launch readiness and Sprint is extremely pleased with the performance of the mobile WiMAX network and access devices from Samsung,” said Xohm president Barry West, who will become president of Clearwire when Sprint and Clearwire merge their WiMAX operations later this year. “The collaboration with Samsung and our other partners has created a WiMAX ecosystem that has now proven that it can deliver this new technology to the marketplace well ahead of any feasible alternative.”
Last month, Samsung announced the introduction of several WiMAX-enabled devices:
- The Express Card (E100 PC Card)
- The WiMAX embedded UMPC (Q1 Ultra Premium Mobile PC)
Samsung wants to be seen as the leading provider of end-to-end mobile WiMAX network systems.
The full rollout in the Baltimore and Washington DC markets is expected to begin later this year. Sprint has previously said that initially it will be marketed for wireless broadband rather than mobile telephony.
“The wireless subscribers in the United States are ready to step up to the next level of a truly broadband wireless network that surpasses the performance of existing wireless networks today,” said Dr. Hwan Chung, senior VP of Samsung Telecommunications America. “Sprint’s acceptance of Samsung’s WiMAX technology shows Samsung’s strong commitment to meet our customers’ needs for the most reliable, seamless, and fastest wireless network. Samsung’s mobile WiMAX expertise will help Sprint answer the mobile broadband needs of US wireless subscribers,” he added.
Mobile TV Looming on the Horizon
- Will Free Mobile TV Win Out?
- Local TV Stations Want Their Own Mobile TV Standard
“Is mobile TV ready for its close-up?” asks MSNBC’s Suzanne Choney, who says, “Momentum and interest are building for TV ’snacking’ on the small screen” in her article at:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24586581/
Choney cites several events that point to the beginning of a trend, events that have been previously reported in detail in The Online Reporter:
- AT&T recently launched its subscription mobile TV service. Verizon Wireless was already offering almost the identical service. Both are based on Qualcomm’s MediaFLO mobile TV service but neither seems to have yet picked up any momentum.
- Microsoft recently began selling TV shows for its Zune portable media player.
- Orb Networks last week announced its software for streaming live TV to the iPhone and iPod Touch for those who are willing to unlock them, something Apple doesn’t authorize.
- HBO this week added some of its TV shows to Apple’s iTunes store for viewing on iPhones and video iPods.
- Sprint Nextel, Alltel, AT&T (in addition to the MediaFLO service), US Cellular and other mobile phone operators offer TV on some handset models by using the MobiTV service, which comes with up to 60 channels.
There are two business models now with a third one emerging. One is pay-per-download like Apple’s iTunes, which now violates a once iron clad tenet of Apple’s by offering variable pricing. The others is a monthly subscription fee like AT&T’s and Verizon? $15 a month for 10 channels. It’s the third - free mobile TV - that has proven to be the most popular in Japan and South Korea.
A free mobile TV service may be coming to the US, perhaps as early as next year.
Then there’s EchoStar’s recently acquired Sling Media, whose Slingbox lets users view on some mobile devices any and all of the videos they can see on their home TV sets, even those recorded on a DVR. There is no monthly fee for Slingbox, only the cost of the initial equipment.
Dish Network, DirecTV and Comcast have promised portable devices that will allow their subscribers to record TV shows and movies and then view them on a mobile device.
Dish Network is working with Archos on a device called PocketDish. DirecTV has worked with Humax and Thomson. Comcast is working with Panasonic on a portable media player that uses CableLabs’ Tru2way technology, which Comcast is deploying.
Tru2way will reportedly allow any maker of portable media players to develop Tru2way compatible devices. If, as expected, other cablecos deploy Tru2way, then the same device will be compatible with all the cablecos, not proprietary, as would be the case with Dish and DirecTV.
See “Humax Unveils PMP for DirecTV” at:
http://www.onlinereporter.com/article.php?article_id=5603
See “EchoStar [Dish’s owner] Shines on New Handheld Video Player” at:
http://www.onlinereporter.com/article.php?article_id=5065
Free Beats Paid
A new technology is coming to market that will allow local TV stations to use their existing spectrum to transmit actual live broadcasts to compatible mobile devices. The service would be free, with the TV stations, hopefully, charging advertisers more because of the extended reach and frequency.
The MSNBC piece quotes Michelle Abraham, principal analyst for In-Stat, as saying there are currently around three million mobile TV subscribers in the US. Abraham said, “In the U.S., with these multiple methods of getting video, we expect by the end of 2012, there will be more than 25 million subscribers to mobile video services.”
There are numbers being bandied about that show more than 25 million mobile TV users already in Japan and South Korea and soon that number and more in China. The difference is that in those countries mobile TV is free just as consumers in the States receive free over-the-air TV signals at home from the local TV stations.
The move to free mobile TV in the States will likely be accelerated when the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), a nonprofit US organization that develops voluntary standards for digital TV, completes its work on a standard for mobile devices for local broadcasters.
Some 420 local for-profit TV stations and 350 non-profit public TV stations have formed the Open Mobile Video Coalition to push for a mobile TV standard that they can use. It would allow them to broadcast directly to suitably equipped mobile devices such as mobile phones plus portable media players, game players and DVD players. The ATSC standard is expected to commence deployment in 2009.
Note: The Advanced Television Systems Committee,describes itself as an international, non-profit organization that develops voluntary standards for digital television. ATSC member organizations represent the broadcast, broadcast equipment, motion picture, consumer electronics, computer, cable, satellite, and semiconductor industries. ATSC creates and fosters implementation of voluntary Standards and Recommended Practices to advance terrestrial digital television broadcasting, and to facilitate interoperability with other media.
It was under its auspices that the ATSC standard for digital television was developed. ATSC will replace the analog NTSC television format that is in use in the US and Canada. The switchover to ATSC digital from NTSC analog is scheduled to take place by February 17, 2009 in the US and by August 31, 2011 in Canada.
In any event, everything else being equal, free, even free with commercials, generally goes over better than pay-per-view or pay-per-month.
Mobile TV Guide for AT&T, Verizon Wireless
AT&T’s and Verizon Wireless’ mobile TV service both use Qualcomm’s MediaFLO’s network to deliver content to some models of their mobile phones.
There are two differences in the two services, the channels that they offer and the price they charge.
AT&T Verizon Wireless
Mobile TV V Cast
$15 per month $13 per month
CBS Mobile yes yes
CNN Mobile exclusively
Comedy Central yes yes
ESPN Mobile yes yes
ESPN radio yes
FOX Mobile yes yes
MTV tr3s yes
MTV yes yes
NBC 2Go yes yes
NBC News2Go yes yes
Nickelodeon yes yes
Pix exclusively
AT&T charges $15 a month, $2 a month more than the $13 a month that Verizon Wireless charges. The channels that offer are almost identical but there are a few differences.
PIX, a movie channel from Sony Pictures, and CNN Mobile Live are AT&T-exclusive channels. For the next two months, AT&T Mobile TV will also feature CNRT, a concert channel.
MediaFLO TV availability is limited to some 58 markets. AT&T and Verizon Wireless have not made the service available in all of them yet.
AT&T Fails to Impress with Me-too Mobile TV Launch
AT&T last week entered the US mobile TV battle, but with a tame offering delivered over the Qualcomm-owned MediaFLO network, barely better than Verizon’s VCast TV, which has reportedly bombed so far in the US, (although no access figures for VCast have yet been released or even leaked).
AT&T will take the same eight made-for-mobile channels as VCast. These offer shortened versions of content that was originally designed for streamed cellular TV and channels include CBS Mobile, ESPN Mobile, Fox Mobile, NBC 2Go, NBC News 2Go, Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon.
It seems that neither the broadcasters nor the cellular operators in the US believe in mobile TV. These channels have been prepared for cellular streaming services such as VCast Video, which because of video quality problems, was unlikely ever to be viewed for very long, perhaps three or four minutes at a time. MediaFLO produces the type of quality screen that is perfect to watch TV for 20 or 30 minutes, and to pause live TV and replay later, so that a one-hour TV program can be watched during the course of the day.
All research outside the US points to that kind of use case, but almost none of the content on the US services is prime time viewing, and little of it consists of re-broadcasts of last night’s programming, but instead simulcasts with TV that is on during the same day.
So despite launching with three extra features, two new channels, plus a short-lived subscription to a concert channel, and going out to 58 US markets, we expect very little in the way of take-up of this service. Just a marker in a box that says ‘we have mobile TV every bit as good as our rival Verizon, maybe better,”
For the complete report, please email your name and company name to paperboy@riderresearch.com and ask for Wireless Watch 256.
Dada Adds DRM-free Sony BMG MP3s
Mobile entertainment service Dada Entertainment is adding DRM-free MP3s to its online storefront complementing its existing offerings like ringtones, mobile wallpapers and games.
A joint venture of Sony BMG and Dada USA, Dada Entertainment hopes to add tracks from other record labels soon.
Dada subscribers pay $9.99 a month to get 15 tokens, each of which can be redeemed for one download of a ringtone, or other mobile content including wallpapers and games.
Alternatively, users can download full songs in the MP3 format to their computer. These tracks can subsequently be transferred to any mobile phone, iPod or digital music player.
Dada is looking to offer over-the-air MP3 downloads to mobile devices in the coming months.
Users are billed through their phone bills.
Dada’s MP3 service is available to users from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Alltel, Virgin, Cellular One, Boost, Cricket and Nextel.
Dada is also repurposing and renaming its fledgling social network into a more music-oriented community called The Music Movement.
When fully operational, The Music Movement is supposed to let Dada users discover new artists and network with existing members and communities at the same time and create a personal page to share their likes and dislikes through personalized playlists, images and blog posts.
The social network will also serve as a promotional tool for artists and labels by letting fans interact with their favorite musicians through community features like mobile alerts, concert information and contests.
“We’re thrilled to be able to offer our customers exactly what they’ve been asking for,” said Dada CEO Massimiliano Pellegrini. “By introducing both mobile content and MP3 downloads for the PC, we’re not only offering consumers more for their money, we’re giving them more than anyone else in the industry. We’re excited to take this new step forward, and set the standard for the next generation social-driven music storefront.”
SingTel, Affiliates to Peddle iPhone
Singapore Telecom and its affiliates Bharti Airtel, Globe Telecom and Optus said the other day they have signed an agreement with Apple to bring the iPhone to Singapore, India, Philippines and Australia later this year. Singapore Telecom is an investor in Indian firm Bharti and Philippines service provider Globe Telecom while Optus is its Australian subsidiary. Vodafone also has a deal to offer the iPhone in Australia and India, two of the countries in SingTel’s iPhone network.
Wave of Innovators Coming in The Mobile Space
“We have believed for a long time that mobile computing is the next wave and that there’s going to be a wave of innovators in the mobile space. I don’t know when these companies will appear, but I think you’ll see some exciting IPOs in the mobile space when the public market opens up again, and some of them will probably become the next Yahoos, Googles and Amazons.” - Sun Microsystems co-founder Bill Joy in an interview with BusinessWeek’s Maria Bartiromo. Joy, who works at the Silicon Valley VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, is the man behind the company’s iFund that’s committed to investing $100 million in companies that are developing software and services for the iPhone/iPod touch platform.
Google Lands Sprint for Its Mobile Services
Google and Yahoo are fierce competitors when it comes to getting cellcos to offer exclusivity or give preference to their products and services.
This week Google, no doubt helped by the deal it did with the soon-to-be 51% Sprint owned Clearwire, landed Sprint for a partnership that is aimed at integrating Google applications and services into Sprint’s cellular service. Google will become Sprint’s preferred mobile search provider and Sprint users will have easier access to Google Maps, YouTube and other Google applications and services.
Some of the Google services will be available from Sprint this summer.
Google and Clearwire this week said a similar agreement had been reached for the WiMAX network that Clearwire is deploying.
Google doesn’t want its services, especially its ad network, to be locked out of any device that connects to the Internet and consequently has campaigned for an open mobile ecosystem. Sprint says that it has too.
“Our partnership with Google is a great example of how Sprint is making the mobile Internet experience even more customer-friendly and useful to our customers,” said Sprint’s VP of product management Kevin Packingham.
“Google and Sprint have a lot in common when it comes to our vision for the mobile Web, said Google’s VP of product management Doug Garland. “We both believe in openness.”
Services include:
- Google will become the default search provider for Web search and GPS-enabled local search on the Sprint portal on current and future Web-enabled Sprint phones. Some devices will have one-click access to Google search.
- Google Maps for mobile will be available for some current and future Sprint handsets. Users will be able to view maps and satellite images, find local businesses, get driving directions and view real-time traffic information.
- YouTube will be available from some new Sprint handsets, a function that iPhones offer.
- Location-enabled search and maps will allow users to discover what’s nearby and show them how to get there.
- Sprint is a founding member of the Google-led Open Handset Alliance that is developing the Google Android mobile operating system.
MobiTV to Offer Disney Channel
MobiTV will offer Disney Channel to its MobiTV service subscribers. MobiTV said the same content and programming as seen on cable and satellite television is now available to MobiTV service subscribers on their Web enabled wireless handsets via its carrier partners.
Thumbplay Gets Play on Clear Channel Web Sites
Mobile entertainment content services provider Thumbplay has inked a distribution deal with Clear Channel Radio to roll out customized mobile content stores across over 650 Clear Channel local music stations’ Web sites.
The customized mobile content stores will also appear on Clear Channel’s news and sports station sites.
Thumbplay’s content is to be contextually featured in areas including ‘Just Played’ box and ‘Top 20 On Demand’ lists on all participating local radio stations’ home pages.
Links to the mobile content store will also feature in the ‘Last 10 Played’ playlist on each web site to allow listeners who like songs they’ve heard on the station to buy them as ringtones.
Thumbplay is promising support for over 2,000 handsets across all major US carriers.
Thumbplay said its mobile content stores have already launched on some 100 stations’ Web sites across the US, including in Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas, Boston, Washington DC, Atlanta and Houston.
KIIS-FM 102.7 in Los Angeles, WJRR-FM Real Rock 101 in Orlando and WGCI-FM 107.5 in Chicago are among the first stations to launch the new mobile content stores.
Thumbplay said it’s developed a customizable widget to let DJs at each station choose their favorite ringtones and update those selections themselves online.
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