ETSI adds IP support to DAB, simplifying a DVB-H migration

Despite the efforts by Nokia and Qualcomm to guide the deployment of mobile-TV services to DVB-H (digitalvideo - broadcasting - handheld) and MediaFlo technologies, respectively, those aren’t the only choices. Giant British Telecom, for instance, stated early this year that it would roll out digitalradio and -TV services to handsets using DAB (digitala u d i o - b r o a d c a s t i n g ) technology. The company plans to offer its DAB-based Movio this summer with service provider Virgin Mobile. Detractors, however, believe DAB is far inferior to DVB-H in video quality and the number of channels that it offers. So, many are welcoming the fact that standards body ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) has just revised the DAB standard to include support for the delivery of multimedia streams over IP (Internet Protocol), much like the technique that the DVB-H standard, which ETSI also controls, specifies.

Realistically, British Telecom had little choice in selecting DAB. The frequencies that DVB-H uses are unavailable in the United Kingdom and won’t for several years be free of analog-TV use. Now, however, British Telecom will have the flexibility of migrating its IP-based service to multiple network technologies, including DVBH and even Wi-Fi. — Maury Wright Editor-in-Chief, EDN British Telecom www.bt.com ETSI www.etsi.org Qualcomm www.qualcomm.com