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Alcatel-Lucent, 3 Italia and RAI trial DVB-SH mobile TV in Italy

Categories: Announcements, Mobile TV
By: , IntoMobile
Tuesday, December 25th, 2007 at 12:41 PM

Alcatel-Lucent, the mobile operator 3 Italia and Italian public broadcaster RAI have launched the first trial of Mobile TV based on the DVB-SH standard in Italy.

DVB-SHThose not familiar should know DVB-SH stands for Digital Video Broadcasting – Satellite services to Handhelds and is an evolution of DVB-H, because it provides higher spectrum efficiency and allows integration with hybrid satellite/terrestrial networks. The trial, based on Alcatel-Lucent’s Unlimited Mobile TV solution, uses for the first time in the world a multi-layer DVB-SH terrestrial network blending low-power transmitters from a mobile operator and medium-power transmitters from a broadcaster.

Torino is the place to be where 3 and RAI will co-operate to allow outdoor and vehicular coverage of the entire town of Torino, while Alcatel-Lucent is providing the DVB-SH equipment, the network planning, the network integration and the technical support.

The first phase of the trial has already started and will end in March 2008. In a second phase, the broadcast signal from a satellite will be emulated by a transmitter located in a high-altitude helicopter. Finally, in a longer term perspective, tests with satellites in operation will be carried out in cooperation with a major satellite operator.

The S-Band spectrum (2.17-2.20 GHz) is available throughout Europe and can be used to deploy across the whole continent mobile satellite services such as Mobile TV… Full release is available from here.

About The Author

Dusan Belic

Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.