Rogers possibly migrating mobile TV to DVB-H network

Rogers Communications Inc., the country’s largest wireless operator, has all but confirmed that it will eventually migrate its mobile TV services off its conventional cellular network to an emerging network based on digital video broadcast-handheld (DVB-H) technology.Ken Engelhart, VP of regulatory affairs at Rogers, alluded to the potential move in an interview with Report on Wireless affiliate publication Canadian New Media. "I always assumed that when we offered things like DVB-H, we would need to go back and get a broadcasting licence," he says, referencing one of the key provisions in the recently announced exemption order for mobile television broadcasting undertakings (Broadcasting Public Notice 2007-13).When asked for clarification on his statement, he back-peddled slightly. "Well, I’m assuming that we’ll offer one day. We don’t have a technology or a business plan or a product or anything yet, but we’re looking at all the options," he says.While Rogers is currently evasive on its plans to roll out DVB-H mobile TV, the company’s true intentions should become clearer in the not-too-distant future, as the spectrum required to offer DVB-H services is scheduled to become available early next year. Industry Canada recently launched a consultation process to assign the key spectrum and plans to make 14 licences available in the 1670-1675 MHz band (see article on page 2).This isn’t the first time a Rogers executive has mentioned a possible move to DVB-H for its mobile TV services. Upinder Saini, VP of new products and content development at Rogers, acknowledged at an industry event a year ago that this type of move might be in the offing down the road. Broadcast-based mobile TV technologies and services more advancedSouth of the border, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licensed this spectrum in 2003 with Crown Castle Corp. acquiring the entire 5 MHz (RoW, Jan. 7/02). The company’s subsidiary Modeo is now offering a trial in New York City. It also tested the service in Pittsburgh.Moving mobile TV services to a DVB-H network makes sense as the technology multi-casts signals to subscribers in much the same way over-the-air television signals are broadcast to households. This allows for an experience similar to conventional television, while current mobile TV services require users to pull down channels.Look Communications Inc. is the only operator in Canadian with publicly stated plans to offer DVB-H services. The company has a small network up and running in Milton ON, but it’s in the process of selling itself, so it’s unlikely there will be any further network expansion in the near term.Other than Look’s inability to secure financing to build out its network, the company’s business plan was also hampered by the lack of devices. While companies such as Nokia, HTC and ZTE are making handsets, they aren’t designed to operate on Look’s 2.6 GHz spectrum.Report on Wireless will continue to follow the emergence of DVB-H mobile TV services in Canada and whether they are a viable option to today’s unicast mobile TV offerings from the country’s wireless operators.

Rogers possibly migrating mobile TV to DVB-H network

News | February 26, 2007

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