Mobile TV trial to take place in the UK this summer

Harris Corporation has announced that it has entered into a teaming agreement with NTL Broadcast, a major UK broadcast transmission provider, as the exclusive supplier of broadcast transmitters for a mobile TV trial using the DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld) standard. The trial, mounted by NTL Broadcast and mobile operator O2, will cover 120 square kilometers in the Oxford area of the United Kingdom, using 10 transmitting sites. At each site, Harris will install its DVB-H-ready DTV660 Series transmitters with power between 100W-200W. The DTV660 Series transmitters are based on the highly successful digital television transmitters and single-frequency network products built by Harris’ European operations. NTL Broadcast and O2 will test their business model and consumer mobile TV preferences beginning in June this year.

During the trial, 500 O2 customers with multimedia mobile phones will receive a line-up of 16 TV channels comprising music, sports, news, comedy, soaps, documentary, drama, cartoons and specialist channels, including interactive gaming and shopping. The trial will test consumer demand for mobile TV services, the perceived value of specific types of content, and likely viewing habits that could shape an eventual service proposition.

“This is a commercial trial to test the business case for a mobile TV service in the UK,” said Terry Howard, head of media business development at NTL Broadcast. “We’ve performed extensive market research about consumer demand and viewing habits and it looks very positive, but these results need to be validated in a trial environment with the help of key players in the industry such as Harris. With our significant broadcasting assets, close relationships with content companies and track record of technology innovation, we’re ideally positioned to pull this together and we expect the results of the trial to help us shape any future national service deployment.”