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Telecommunications BSkyB to trial Qualcomm's FLO cellular multicast technology
Telecommunications BSkyB to trial Qualcomm's FLO cellular multicast technology | BSkyB to trial Qualcomm's FLO cellular multicast technology |
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| by Stuart Corner | |
| Thursday, 11 May 2006 | |
  
FLO (Forward Link Only) technology is designed to maximise the use of scarce capacity on cellular networks by delivering multimedia content in non-real time for storage and later retrieval on the handset, in addition to delivering real-time streaming video. Qualcomm's MediaFLO content distribution system, announced in March 2004, is designed to make intelligent decisions about when to send content over a network made up of any number of different wireless technologies, including FLO and EV-DO Platinum Multicast. The technical trial, expected to begin in the Northern Summer, will deliver 10 channels of BSkyB content on a small number of non-commercial devices provided by Qualcomm. BSkyB intends to use the trial to closely evaluate the performance capabilities of FLO as a means of delivering video services to mobile devices in the UK. Qualcomm claims that the FLO technology offer several advantages over other mobile multicast technologies, including higher-quality video and audio, faster channel switching, superior mobile reception, optimised power consumption and greater capacity concurrently as compared to other multicast technologies. It is claimed to be able to deliver up to 30 streaming channels of QVGA-quality (320x240 pixel) video at up to 25 frames per second, 10 stereo audio channels and up to 800 minutes short-format video clips per day. It is complementary to CDMA2000®/EV-DO and WCDMA/HSDPA cellular voice and data services and able to deliver content to the same cellular handsets used on these 3G networks. Qualcomm and KDDI have formed a joint venture to explore the deployment of MediaFLO services in Japan. MediaFLO USA, a subsidiary of Qualcomm, is working with Verizon Wireless to deploy wireless multimedia services based on FLO technology in the USA. |
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