TV in Your Pocket: the first round of tests successfully completed
Public 21.06.2006 in category Press News / Services, Pricing, Handsets
- In autumn, T-Mobile will start pilot operation in Prague
- Commercial operation is planned to be launched in 2007
Prague, 21 June 2006 - The "TV in Your Pocket" project, introduced by T-Mobile in cooperation with Radiokomunikace at the INVEX trade fair last year, has successfully undergone initial testing. Last week, trial broadcasting of "mobile TV" in the DVB-H format took place in Prague. The trial operation consisted of broadcasting a total of five channels. Before commercial operation is officially started, pilot operation will be launched in Prague this autumn.
"Since we were awarded the Crystal Disk at INVEX, we have been far from resting on our laurels. Now that we have successfully completed the first round of tests, we are already working hard to prepare for the next round in autumn," says Jiøi Dvorjancansky, Executive Vice President Marketing at T-Mobile. "We would like to offer this service to customers next year," he adds.
Last week, another phase of the project was successfully completed. It consisted of trial operation, testing of new terminals (Motorola) and preparation of new functionalities of the service. Based on a short-term licence and authorization to utilize the frequency spectrum, "TV in Your Pocket" was presented to representatives of regulatory authorities.
The pilot operation will take place in autumn this year. This should be the final testing before the service is launched on a commercial basis. "Mobile TV" is to e officially included in T-Mobile's offer in 2007.
The partners of the project include Radiokomunikace (broadcasting network), Czech TV and Prima TV (content provision), Siemens (central server), Nagravision and Gemalto (formerly Gemplus; security solution for access to the service) and Motorola (supplier of terminals).
"When testing DVB-H, we took advantage of our broad experience in the operation of digital TV broadcasting. Although 'mobile TV' is much more complex as far as coverage is concerned, we managed to perform the task in quite a short time," says Martin Roztocil, Head of Broadcasting Services at Radiokomunikace. Despite six years of experience in DVB-T broadcasting, the DVB-H testing was not a routine matter for Radiokomunikace since "mobile TV" requires much denser coverage for a significantly lower data flow.
T-Mobile has opted for the DVB-H technology, which offers the best parameters for transmission of multimedia content. The enormous interest of major mobile operators, who are currently testing this standard for transmission of TV and other content, proves that it was a good choice. The DVB-H technology is a part of the digital broadcasting development concept prepared by the Ministry of Information Technologies. Also, the Czech Telecommunications Office is planning to prepare a set of frequencies for the DVB-H network in the near future.
One of the conditions for successful implementation of the service is high-quality TV signal coverage, including coverage inside buildings. As for the use of the frequency spectrum, experts say that it would be ideal to have a separate multiplex for DVB-H, which will be shared by all operators.
DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting - Transmission System of Handheld Terminals - "Handheld") is a system for mobile reception of terrestrial digital broadcasting. The signal can be received via special receivers or mobile phones, PDAs or pocket computers. DVB-H (formerly also designated as DVB-M or DVB-X) is based on the DVB-T standard (Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial), though it was originally also used for mobile telecommunications services (i.e. GSM, UMTS). Thanks to the system currently used, DVB-H now allows significantly better signal reception also in relatively unfavourable conditions (e.g. inside buildings, in transit, etc.). A suitable image resolution for the mobile phone screen is, according to experts, the CIF format with resolution of 352x288 pixels. Transmission of the TV signal will require a capacity of approximately 384kb/s per one program channel. The DVB-H system could use the frequencies of the TV bands normally used in the Czech Republic (III, IV, and V). Another advantage, besides mobility, is the compatibility with the DVB-T system, which will allow the use of a common network infrastructure.
About the Company
T-Mobile Czech Republic has been operating in the Czech market since 1996. As of 30 September 2011, almost 5.4 million customers were using T-Mobile services.
T-Mobile operates a public mobile communications network on the GSM and UMTS standards. Since 1 January 2008, T-Mobile has been offering fixed data and voice telecommunications services. In 2009, T-Mobile extended its portfolio to include ICT services and, since November 2010, the operator also offers the T-Mobile TV satellite television service.
T-Mobile has always focused on the quality of offered services. Independent tests have repeatedly confirmed that T-Mobile is the quality leader in 2G and 3G (UMTS FDD) data services, as well as in GSM voice services.
Since its establishment, the company has placed emphasis on excellent customer service and proper conduct towards business partners, employees and the environment. T-Mobile has received, among other awards, the VIA Bona 2009 award for the involvement of its employees in philanthropic and volunteer activities.
T-Mobile is a member of the international telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom. Thanks to the group’s international presence, customers can count on the worldwide availability of their favourite services and enjoy uniform, favourable prices of calls when abroad.
For more information about the company, please visit t-press.cz or www.t-mobile.cz.
