Content for Mobile TV
Sponsored by Qualcomm MediaFLO Technologies
Most people have cellular phones, and are The Harris Atlas base station providers, expecting and getting
accustomed to and appreciate the current
DTV-660
real energy savings. They will be shocked by
model in which MNOs offer a wide range of
transmitter.
the traditional levels of performance achieved
handsets to their subscribers. It makes the monitored and by broadcast transmitters.
cellphone itself very much a personal thing, forgotten. So to A typical digital television transmitter is
with the choice being made on criteria from create a mobile around 15% efficient in its use of electricity.
cost to colour. Limiting consumers to picking television service For its quoted radiated power, it takes in six
a cellphone with mobile television from a list means jumping times or more energy. The rest is largely
of just a handful will meet huge resistance. through a dissipated as heat, which means you need air
But manufacturers need economies of scale number of legal conditioning to take it away and liquid
to deliver a rich variety of handset types, and and licensing cooling for the higher powered models.
that scale cannot be reached if each market hoops and For a mobile television transmitter network
requires a different configuration of broadcast making technical covering a typical European country, the
standards and frequencies. decisions which power bill, including air conditioning and
One standard which is gaining increasing will allow a liquid cooling, is going to be measured in
interest is DVB-SH, which in practice means a satisfactory millions of euros a year. That alone accounts
hybrid satellite and terrestrial delivery system. service with a for a lot of subscriptions or commercial
Satellite gives you instant and uniform good range of breaks. Reducing that bill is a key issue, and
coverage over rural areas, which would handsets to you should expect to see important
otherwise be difficult and perhaps choose from. announcement about transmitter efficiency in
uneconomic. On the other hand, it probably Then you need to the near future.
means a greater need for gap-filler terrestrial set up detailed Controlling operational expenditure is not
transmitters into urban areas, particularly commercial just about energy efficiency, of course.
where there are high rise buildings. agreements Minimising engineering costs through
Gap fillers are low-powered transmitters of between the automatic redundancy, remote monitoring and
perhaps just a few watts, often with a receiver broadcasters who even simple moves like making the modules of
built in so it takes the service off air, re-clocks own the a transmitter amplifier small and light enough
the digital signal for stability, amplifies it and programmes and the brands and the MNOs to be lifted by one person not two all have
rebroadcasts it. The key point here is that this who own the customers. their part to play.
is a very different application from the Once all that is done, then all you need to In conclusion, then, I believe that
traditional broadcast transmitter. do is build the transmitter network, then consumers like the idea of mobile television
Broadcast networks tend to be built around operate it. And again, this is not as simple as and want it available as soon as possible.
large masts in rural areas, with dedicated it might be. But creating a viable business plan to be
buildings at the base in which the transmitter In particular, operational expenditure is able to launch a service, and to keep it on
electronics are housed. Gap fillers - and they coming under increasing scrutiny. air, is far from simple. Many of the
are needed for digital terrestrial television Environmental concerns have given us all restrictions are technical, and it is up to
networks, as well as for mobile television - pause for thought at the electricity consumed manufacturers like Harris to make it as easy
have to be sited where they are needed, often by transmitters, and now the galloping costs as possible for network providers to build
on rooftops. So the demand is not just for a of energy have made it a pressing concern out and run the service, getting them on air
transmitter, but for a complete, weather-proof commercially, too. as quickly as possible to tap into this
package that can be installed, remotely MNOs are already working with cellular unfulfilled demand.
26 IBE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2008
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