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Tag: broadcast

  • Telstra to launch LTE-Broadcast this year

    Telstra to launch LTE-Broadcast this year

    Telstra has announced plans to launch LTE-Broadcast (LTE-B) services this year, and roll out the technology across Australia by 2018.

    The company is working with network vendor Ericsson to enable LTE-B in existing Telstra Media services this year.

    Telstra also plans to launch a 24×7 linear streaming channel using the technology, initially for certain compatible Samsung devices.

    LTE-B is a dedicated technology for broadcasting media over LTE networks for enhanced mobile video services such as mobile TV broadcasting and live streaming video services. The technology is also known as enhanced broadcast multcast services (eMBMS).

    LTE-B is designed to provide a constant bitrate data channel for broadcast content, with the bitrate not decreasing regardless of how many subscribers are watching simultaneously.

    Telstra group managing director for networks Mike Wright said 99% of Telstra’s 4GX-branded sites are already LTE_B compatible, and the operator aims to achieve nationwide coverage by next year.

    “Telstra’s LTE-B product roadmap will include 24 x 7 linear streaming, live sports coverage beyond stadiums, pre-loading of popular content, news clips and games highlights,” he said. “We plan on enabling LTE-B across many devices, and are excited to deliver an enhanced mobile experience to our customers.”

    In line with these ambitions, Telstra is also adopting technologies including session continuity and dynamic switching, and aims to introduce these capabilities to its network by November 2017.

    Session continuity allows for seamless transitions between unicast and broadcast areas during video streaming. Dynamic switching shifts the transmission between unicast or broadcast depending on which technology will deliver a superior experience based on the current number of simultaneous users.

    “This technology will be crucial to improving the LTE-B experience for our customers. For instance, when network capacity becomes limited and multiple users are consuming the same content, the MooD capability can shift the transmission to broadcast,” he said.

    Telstra and Ericsson are also members of the global LTE-Broadcast Alliance, which is holding its first forum at this week’s Mobile World Congress, the annual mobile industry conference held in Barcelona.

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  • Mobile operators should embrace LTE Broadcast now

    Mobile operators should embrace LTE Broadcast now

    Mobile operators, especially those with multi-screen assets and ambitions of providing superior mobile video and data experiences to customers, should adopt eMBMS, or LTE Broadcast, more aggressively, says a new report by Strategy Analytics.

    Accessing mobile TV services, particularly live events, over the mobile network will only increase in future as competition drives larger data bundles to 4G users, the research firm predicts.

    To meet growing mobile video demand while maintaining performance for all users mobile operators must embrace LTE Broadcast to drive support from smartphone vendors such as Apple.

    The LTE Broadcast market has changed from optimism to caution in the last two years. No other mobile operators have launched commercial LTE Broadcast service since Verizon Wireless did so in 2015.

    Strategy Analytics believes two main impediments are holding momentum for LTE Broadcast back — the lack of a reliable monetization model and weak mobile device support.

    “Although LTE Broadcast is the best tool to deliver the same content simultaneously to multiple users using the broadcast channels, therefore ideal for covering live events, for example, sports or concerts, live video alone is not enough to make a paid for service,” says Wei Shi, analyst of wireless media strategies at Strategy Analytics .

    “However, the cost saved from offloading the traffic data, largely generated by mobile video consumption, from unicast to multicast will justify operators’ limited investment to upgrade the network,” adds Wei. “In addition to packaging LTE Broadcast as part of operators’ service portfolios, there are other non-live video opportunities for the technology, for example, batch software updates, public information dissemination, and supplementing terrestrial broadcasting.”

    Out of the 26,000 models tracked by Strategy Analytics’ SpecTRAX, more than 1,000 are using eMBMS capable chipsets, though very few devices are shipped with the feature enabled. None of the iPhone models, which account for a combined 15% of smartphone installed base, supports eMBMS.

    The launching and expanding of LTE Broadcast Alliance in 2016 is a positive sign that the industry, led by a group of leading operators and technology companies, is actively addressing the device support issue.

    “Leading mobile device makers have not rushed to equip a large number of their phones and tablets with the LTE Broadcast feature, the most obvious absence being Apple’s iPhones and iPads,” adds Nitesh Patel, the firm’s director of Wireless Media Strategies.

    “One of the main objectives of the Alliance is to shore up the mobile device support for LTE Broadcast. More important than the publicity, operators should take the lead to break the ‘no business therefore no device, no device therefore no business’ cycle,” notes Patel.

    “By embracing LTE Broadcast more seriously, operators will send a clear signal to the device makers, including Apple, that it is time they should bring the feature to a broader portfolio of their products.”

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  • CIBN picks Irdeto for China DRM

    CIBN picks Irdeto for China DRM

    China International Broadcasting Network (CIBN) has become the first Chinese customer for Irdeto Rights with China DRM Support.

    CIBN is one of the seven broadcasting networks that is licensed to distribute over-the-top (OTT) content in China by The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of the People’s Republic of China.

    Irdeto will help establish CIBN as a frontrunner for premium content offerings, especially Hollywood content, through OTT distribution. This will also provide studios and content providers with greater confidence to enter the Chinese market.

    “We are delighted to partner with Irdeto to integrate its China DRM solution to our OTT applications and set-top boxes (STBs), which will safeguard premium content on our network and platforms,” said Fu Qiang, deputy general manager of CIBN.

    “We are confident that our collaboration with Irdeto will improve overall viewer experience for our customers and instill greater confidence for the studios and content providers to enter the Chinese market, which will in turn generate revenue growth for our paid OTT offerings,” said Fu.

    By implementing Irdeto Rights with China DRM support, CIBN will be able to get the content protection they need in order to securely stream content to their customers, including premium content such as 4K and UHD.

    The solution also allows CIBN to accelerate the release of content more efficiently, an essential component given the industry is evolving rapidly.

    Operators and content owners will need to continually adapt and evolve with changing times to improve their content offerings and ensure a seamless user experience.

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