Qualcomm Develops DVB-H Based Mobile TV Chips

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5:15 am on March 1, 2006 | Category: Wireless Technology, Mobile Devices

Wireless technology maker, Qualcomm has begun developing mobile television chips based on the DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld) standard, which directly competes against the company’s own MediaFlo technology.

The chipmaker’s CEO said that it is in Qualcomm’s best interests to make hardware that’s compatible with other standards as well, so as to remain involved in all facets of the mobile television industry.

“It doesn’t always have to be a Qualcomm technology that’s deployed for us to benefit,” Jacobs commented at the Reuters Global Technology Summit in New York.

Qualcomm has already had some success with MediaFlo, by convincing Verizon Wireless to use that format when offering mobile television to its customers. The MediaFlo mobile TV standard hasn’t yet entered the European market, however, where most carriers seem to be favoring DVB-H.

There is little doubt that making an impact on the European market will make Qualcomm a much bigger name in the mobile television industry around the world.

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Maybe QCOM wouldn’t have to bother w/ developing inferior technologies (UMTS, DVB-H) if Europe would simply abolish industrial policy in the wireless market & allow free technology choice & competition (as they supposedly committed to in WTO)…

But no, they’d rather be straight-jacketed w/ rip-off roaming rates, no free nights & weekends, no free, unlimited in-network calling, blazing data speeds, etc…. all brought on by intense competition between operators using MULTIPLE technologies…

QCOM learned from UMTS? They only reason why those chuckleheads in Europe develpoped UMTS was that they saw that CDMA was superior to GSM… and they needed to come up w/ a technology INCOMPATIBLE w/ CDMA2000…

The European operators could’ve deployed EV/DO years ago, had better data speeds than they are just getting now through HSDPA upgrades, and it would’ve only taken one third the spectrum (making CDMA2000 3X more effcient than HSDPA!!!)

I’m glad I can just look across the Atlantic & laugh!

Comment by Ben Dover — March 2, 2006 #