Modeo to broadcast TV to Nokia’s handsets — MobileMonday Global: Industry News

^{Crown Castle to cover 30 markets by 2007} Modeo to broadcast TV to Nokia’s handsets

8 Jan 2006 at 00:19 GMT Timo Poropudas

A new TV provider Modeo announced at the Consumer Electronics Show a 10-channel video system that will play on Nokia N-Series phones.

Nokia was running a Modeo demo on an N92 handset in its booth. The demo included segments of CNN and Cartoon Network.

Wireless broadcast tower operator Crown Castle International Corp., the owner of Modeo, said that by 2007 the company’s mobile TV coverage would include about 10 video channels and at least 24 audio channels in 30 U.S. markets covering about half the population

It has not signed programming deals or named mobile phone provider partners so far but said that four leading mobile phone makers including Motorola Inc and Nokia will support the live TV technology it is using.

The demo was based on the European DVB-H standard. However, according to Modeo’s Matt Sturgill, the mobile TV service may launch in the US before it launches in Europe To work with the Modeo’s system the existing N92 needs support 1.6 GHz frequency band and Windows Media Video format.

Modeo’s system will go up against MediaFLO; a Qualcomm based and owned mobile TV delivery system. Verizon Wireless has committed to delivering a MediaFLO-based TV phone later this year, but they haven’t given concrete details.