Qualcomm's mobile TV unit gets AT&T boost
signonsandiego.com
By Jonathan Sidener
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
May 1, 2008
On Sunday, Qualcomm's mobile TV subsidiary MediaFLO will more than double its base of potential viewers when AT&T becomes the second wireless company to offer its lineup of TV programs broadcast to cellular phones.
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AT&T competitor Verizon and MediaFLO have been rolling out the service since early 2007 and now offer it in 58 markets. AT&T, the nation's largest wireless carrier, said yesterday that it will launch it in all 58 markets Sunday.
In San Diego, Qualcomm's hometown, the AT&T launch comes nearly two weeks after Verizon announced the availability of its version of the service.
AT&T plans to offer two MediaFLO-capable phones, the LG Vu and the Samsung Access. Like Verizon, AT&T will offer six MediaFLO channels and two of its own. The AT&T exclusive channels are CNN Mobile Live and Sony PIX, which will show full-length movies. Both carriers charge $15 a month for the eight channels, with a starter package for $13.
MediaFLO President Gina Lombardi said the company has not disclosed how much it has recouped of its $800 million investment in the MediaFLO network.
“We measure success in the time subscribers spend watching our mobile TV service,” Lombardi said. “We've found that they spend 30 to 60 minutes a day.”
Broadcast mobile TV differs from the downloadable TV-clip services offered by wireless companies for several years. Instead of sending files over a carrier's two-way voice and data network, MediaFLO sends a one-way transmission of digital programming to a separate TV antenna and receiver within the specialized phones.
The FLO portion of the Qualcomm subsidiary name stands for “forward link only” a reference to the one-way broadcast designed to avoid overload of the voice and data network during peak viewing periods.
So far, heavy use has not been a problem. Slow adoption by consumers has led some analysts to question the likelihood of success for mobile TV.
Qualcomm Chief Executive Paul Jacobs said AT&T's decision to include the PIX channel underscores the findings that consumers are spending more time watching full-length mobile programming, not just short clips.
Jacobs said he is not concerned by the early subscriber numbers.
“I suspect that like most technology, use will grow slowly for some time and then suddenly shoot up,” he said.
The limited number of phones that receive MediaFLO broadcasts – four from Verizon in addition to the two from AT&T – is expected to slow subscriber growth. Without subscribers, manufacturers have little incentive to make additional MediaFLO-capable models. Other content-delivery technologies such as HDTV and HD-Radio have faced similar “chicken and egg” dilemmas
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