Orange and T-Mobile launch mobile TV service in London

by Jacquie Bowser, Brand Republic 12-Feb-08, 15:55

LONDON - Orange and T-Mobile are launching a six-month trial in London of a mobile TV broadcast service, with up to 24 channels on offer, in the second half of this year, using new technology that provides high-resolution pictures.

The multimedia broadcast service will offer people living or working in west London up to 24 high-resolution television channels and 10 digital radio stations at a far lower delivery cost per channel than previously possible.

The channel line-up is expected to include many of the most popular broadcast and premium television channels in the UK, including the BBC and Sky, with programmes like 'Doctor Who' and 'Lost' likely to be available.

Orange and T-Mobile will be able to provide the service at a significantly reduced cost by sharing what is known as "unpaired 3G spectrum bands" through TDtv.

TDtv uses part of the licensed 3G spectrum, which is unused at the moment, and is a technology that can scale to support high simultaneous usage levels without any degradation in quality.

Mobile operators are hoping the trial will prove there is a high customer demand for mobile broadcast TV and radio services.

Orange and T-Mobile already offer a range of mobile TV content, including BBC channels, ITV, Channel 4 and Five.

The pilot will be powered by an end-to-end mobile broadcast service developed by NextWave Wireless.

The announcement was made at the Mobile World Congress, which is taking place in Barcelona this week.