Next Generation Mobile Communication Services
By : Antonis Hontzeas M.B.A.
Mobile Entertainment Service Market to Increase threefold to $64bn by 2012 . Music, games and mobile TV will be the major contributors to the global mobile entertainment market which will rise to more than $64 billion by 2012. Other mobile entertainment sectors include User-generated Content, Gambling, Adult and Infotainment.
Mobile music will remain the largest single sector of the mobile entertainment industry over the next five years. Revenues from music will to $17.5 billion in 2012, bolstered by the increasing availability of full-track download and streamed services, the former in both paid-for and rental formats.
Likewise, mobile games will retain its second-ranking in terms of end-user generated revenues: boosted by rapid growth in mass market "casual" gaming, revenues are expected to rise to nearly $16 billion in 2012.
Among next generation technologies, mobile TV will gain more and more momentum, as mobile users get lots of useful content including information, films and other entertainment related content on their mobiles. Many mobile network operators worldwide have rolled out commercial mobile TV services already, and consumers are becoming more discerning in their demand.The number of mobile TV users in the Asia Pacific region is expected to be around 25 m by the beginning of 2009. While India has already emerged as the fastest growing telecom market in the world, mobile TV will generate additional revenue stream for service providers and content providers. Though the number of triple-play services users will be less than simple voice and data users, the revenue generated by mobile TV will be very high as mobile TV services will be costlier than the simple services. Various stakeholders, including service providers, content providers, and advertisers benefit from service fees, content fees, advertising and paid interactions such as games, videos, and seasonal greetings.Mobile TV should see the market rise to $11.9 billion in 2012
According to Dr Windsor Holden, "With revenues from voice services declining and messaging revenues flat lining, last year finally saw a number of more sophisticated entertainment services begin to fulfill their potential and redress the balance. With more widespread penetration of 3G handsets – or entertainment-focused 2.5G handsets like the iPhone – there is likely to be a much greater surge in both the adoption and overall usage in rich media services."
Other findings include:
•Regulations and prohibitions will limit opportunities in the adult and gambling sectors, although restrictions on gambling services will ease in the medium term
•China and the Far East will remain the largest regional market for mobile entertainment throughout the period , with revenues rising to nearly $21.3bn by 2012
•Entertainment service adoption remains constrained by difficulties with the user interface, network speed and coverage and the excessive cost of data services
On the other hand, The world’s first Mobile TV, SDMB, was launched in 2004 followed by TDMB in 2005 with the hope of rapid change of user habits to so that broadcasting on a mobile device would become a popular affair.
The initial results in Korea (as they were in Europe in the 2006 – 2007 timeframe) were not very encouraging.
In the Korean Case, even though DMB viewers are projected to be more than 30 m by 2012, the related operators are still operating the DMB service at a loss.
The unsatisfactory business performance can be traced to :
1. Weak revenue model
TDMB is solely based on Advertising revenue (ie. A clear television business model) but because of the limited viewer base is unattractive as a marketing medium for advertisers.
2. Poor contents
Mobile TV is a personal media, for which viewers watch only in specific situations such as in the subway etc. But the TDMB players are mostly terrestrial broadcasters retransmitting unoriginal or syndicated content. Attempts to produce original material suited or targeted for mobile media failed to produce the required economies of scale which in turn attracted less viewers and entered a negative spiral (or a catch 22).
3. An unbundled bundled mess
Attempts were made to publish bundled services (such as navigation) with the core offering (broadcast content). But inconsistent strategies non coherent diverging strategies by the parties involved resulted in an ineffective incoherent strategy which led nowhere.
The European Commission’s approach:
Mobile TV is a new service platform for transmitting audiovisual content – and associatedinteractive services, in particular in association with 3G services - to a mobile device. The2007 Communication indicated the main elements of a European strategy for mobile TV witha view to facilitating the take-up of these innovative services across the Union. One of the keyelements is the regulatory environment. Legal certainty is paramount for operators to takeinvestment decisions, especially with respect to new, innovative technologies such as mobileTV; early investors in particular need to be reassured that they will not be subject tounforeseen constraints at a later stage. Other elements of the EU strategy include therecognition that DVB-H will be the standard for terrestrial mobile TV in Europe (DVB-H wasadded to the list of official standards of the European Union on 17 March 20083), and the callfor frequencies to be granted to mobile TV services in the UHF band, notably on theoccasion of the refarming of this band in the context of the digital dividend. On the otherhand, interoperability concerns still need to be tackled by industry and the Commission'sservices will monitor developments closely and assess the need for a policy initiative.
Mobile TV lies at the heart of convergence. This means that at EU level, mobile TV is subjectto two sets of rules, governing transmission and content: the e-communications framework,including aspects related to spectrum policy, and the new Audiovisual Media ServicesDirective. This Communication addresses authorisation models at national level only withreference to the e-communications aspects of national regulatory regimes, and does nottouch upon content licences. It summarises the main results of the fact-finding exercise andindicates best practice examples with regard to the main elements of the authorisation regimesfor mobile TV. This is intended to serve as a basis for further discussion and exchange of bestpractice among national authorities.
Legal Framework for Mobile TV Networks and Services:
Best Practice for Authorisation – The EU Model
3.4. Specific aspects
At this early stage of development of the market, it would appear desirable that any specificconditions attached to authorisations are appropriate and avoid imposing unnecessary burdenson operators.
3.4.1. “Must-carry” rules
In accordance with European legislation, “must-carry” obligations can only be imposed if a significant number of end-users of a network use it as their principal means to receive radioand television broadcasts. At present, mobile TV is still in its start-up phase; “must-carry”rules may not be imposed on mobile TV at this stage. At any rate, channels benefiting frommust-carry are also often “must-have” channels, which actually increase the commercial valuefor the distribution services and are likely to be included in any main mobile TV bouquet.
Communication, national regulatory authorities could usefully envisage “must offer” rules for mobile TV as a nascent service needing attractive content.
3.4.2. Network Infrastructure Sharing
Network infrastructure sharing is an important element to minimise roll out costs and increase coverage and transmission capacity. As stated in the 2007 Communication, Member Statesmay consider permitting network infrastructure sharing and encouraging co-locationwhen this is needed to facilitate network deployment. Co-location may also be imposed wherenecessary to address possible environmental concerns.
3.4.3. Interoperability and roaming
The objective of full interoperability across networks and devices remains important in order to make possible EU-wide roaming where appropriate, and interoperable solutions should befavoured. Developments in the market have shown that interoperability can be achieved whenstakeholders act together with a common aim of implementing a technical standard such asDVB-H. Efforts are currently being made in this respect in industrial and standardisation fora,notably focusing on the services and applications layers.
Furthermore, the wireless nature of mobile TV means that consumers will legitimately expect devices to work across borders, as is the case with “roaming” mobile telephony. EU-widemobile TV roaming is likely to gain importance as the take-up of services grows acrossEurope. It should also be recalled that some cross-border or pan-European channels arealready available today and can provide an important test-bed for future pan-European services. The launch of DVB-SH based mobile satellite TV services is expected for nextyear in Europe.
The Technologies
MBMS (Mobile Broadcast MultiCast Service)
At present, mobile TV content is streamed to mobile terminals/handsets in a point-to-point connection, which is not cost-effective. A point-to-multipoint communication can broadcast the same content to a large number of viewers. This is where MBMS or Mobile Broadcast Multicast Service steps in to help the network operators. MBMS is standardized by 3GPP as part of the WCDMA evolution and will be available for both GSM/EDGE and WCDMA connections. In MBMS, with point-to-multipoint (PTM) paradigm, ideal for mobile TV, data packets are simultaneously transmitted from a single source to multiple destinations. Unlike in the unicast paradigm, where data packets are transmitted from a single source to a single person. The MBMS technology allows a group of people interested in a particular program, in a particular area, to watch the same program simultaneously, via both existing GSM as well as UMTS networks. The MBMS technology supports HSPA in a situation where higher loads have to be transmitted in dense areas, saving significant network capacity and enabling a more efficient use of network resources, which ultimately results in cost saving for network operators. MBMS is also included as a supported technology in Long Term Evolution.Today, most mobile TV services worldwide are based on two-way point-to-point data transmission using unicast. Once MBMS is introduced commercially, which is expected in this year, the same content can be delivered to a mass number of terminals in a single transmission via multicast. But it doesn't mean that the introduction of MBMS will invalidate unicast. While MBMS can be used for the most popular programs for a registered multicast group, unicast can be used to deliver on-demand videos to the same group in a cost-effective way. This unique unicast-MBMS model will help achive personalization as well as delivering content to a mass market.
As MBMS requires only minor changes to the existing radio and core network protocols, it reduces the implementation cost of infrastructures like terminals and networks. With its capacity-boosting features, MBMS aims at stimulating the development of new and mobile mass-media services, generating revenue opportunity for network operators and content providers. It will enable service providers to offer cost-effective triple-play services for mobile handheld devices over a common service and network infrastructure.
Before MBMS is introduced in the market, device manufacturers also have to come up with low-power consuming cell phone batteries, essential to support data intensive applications, and handsets for high memory capacity to support the high buffer requirements of mobile TV.
DVB-H
When DVB-T was first published in 1997, it wasn’t designed to target mobile receivers. However, following very positive experimental results, DVB-T mobile services were launched in Singapore and Germany, with extensive commercial trials elsewhere. Indeed, with the advent of diversity antenna receivers, services which target fixed reception can now largely be received on the move as well. So why DVB-H? Battery life! Despite the success of mobile DVB-T reception, the major concern with any handheld device is that of battery life. Power consumption of DVB-T front ends is too high to supporthandheld receivers that are expected to last from one to several days on a single charge. The other major requirements for DVB-H is the ability to receive 15Mbit/s in an 8MHz channel and in a wide area single frequency network (SFN) at high speed. These requirements were drawn up after much debate and with an eye on emerging convergence devices providing video services and other broadcast data services to 2.5G, 3G and future handheld devices. Furthermore, all this should be possible while maintaining maximum compatibility with existing DVB-T networks and systems. In order to meet the above requirements, the DVB-H specification includes: Time-Slicing Rather than continuous data transmission as in DVB-T, DVB-H employs a mechanism where bursts of data are received at a time – a so-called IP datacast carousel. This means that the receiver is inactive for much of the time, and can thus, by means of clever control signalling, be "switched off". The result is a power saving of some 90% and more in some cases.
4K-mode With the addition of a 4K mode with some 3409 active carriers, DVB-H benefits from the compromise between the high-speed small-area SFN capability of 2K DVB-T and the lower speed but larger area SFN of 8K DVB-T. In addition, with the aid of enhanced in-depth interleavers in the 2K and 4K modes, DVB-H has even better immunity to ignition interference.
MPE-FEC The addition of an optional, multiplexer level, forward error correction scheme means that DVB-H transmissions can be even more robust. This is advantageous when considering the hostile environments and poor but sexy antenna designs typical of handheld receivers. Like DVB-T, DVB-H can be used in 6, 7 and 8 MHz channel environments. However, a 5MHz option is also specified for use in non-broadcast environments. A key initial requirement, and a significant feature of DVB-H, is that it can co-exist with DVB-T in the same multiplex. Thus, an operator can choose to have 2 DVB-T services and one DVB-H service in the same overall DVB-T multiplex. DVB-H today encompasses a powerful tool to address new markets for DVB services.
WiMax Based
The evolution from 3Gto 4G (non LTE) is set to be stimulated by services that offerenhanced quality. Quality indicatorsspan increased bandwidth, elevatedsophistication in terms of large-scale information provision, and improvedcustomization capabilities. The maturityof key 4G technologies such as OFDMA,MIMO, and optimized MAC schedulingalgorithms realize a range of desirablefeatures. These include enhanced handoverand mobility, major infrastructure designrequirements that promote a rapidresponse, elevated session rates, increasedcapacity, reduced user charges, swiftreturn on investment (ROI) for operators,and simplified autonomous terminals.WiMAX, in this context, describes an interesting choice for pre-4G technology. Itsrapid time to market provides an ALL IPflat network solution that can complementexisting 2G/3G networks so as to delivermobile TV and video services with aguaranteed Quality of Service (QoS).Based on the mobile access methodsmentioned above, there exist a varietyof competing technologies that areavailable for mobile TV service provision.The three main categories cover mobileand broadcast networks and DVB-SHfor satellite. The availability of multiple broadcasting technologies offers operatorsmore options to choose from, and vendorsricher experiences in mobile TV solutions.Additionally, the competition betweendifferent technologies is necessary topromote the development of mobile TV.Given that 3G networks are currentlyunder utilized, some mobile operators areoffering streamed TV and video contentat highly attractive prices to encourageconsumers to adopt and use their services. WiMAX TDD, which operates undera duplexing mode, is best suited fordata applications and advanced antennatechnologies. The rapid scheduling ofuplinks and downlinks realizes bandwidthrequirements for different applications.Flexible and diversified mobile TVand video service business models arefacilitated, which results in maximizedprofit margins for operators.
The WiMAX Forum MCBCS subteam has been aggressively pursuingrelated standard development. In terms of network deployment,operators are broadly concerned witheconomic development, rapid ROI coupledwith a long-term evolution potential thatprotects investment, device availability,appropriate pricing, and smooth upgradecapabilities can accommodate nascentapplications.WiMAX is based upon a 2-layer ALLIP network architecture and is widelyregarded as a cost-effective means toprovide VoIP and data services. TheWiMAX Forum is committed to enablingMCBCS with minimal changes to existingnetworks in order to support mobile TV& video. Mobile WiMAX claims along-term and smooth transition routetowards 802.16m, which allows a networkto support peak data rates with at least6.5bps/Hz for downlinks, and 2.8bps/Hzfor uplinks. Particularly with 802.16m,a dedicated carrier will be allocated forMCBCS. Optimized switching betweenbroadcast and unicast services can beachieved, and the maximum MCBCSchannel reselection interruption time is 1second for intra frequency and 1.5 secondsfor inter frequency. The above analysis underpins the beliefthat 3G-based enterprises should boostARPU by taking advantage of the unusedcapacity and availability that can be foundin multicast broadcast technology. Thiscan fulfill the needs of mobile TV &video service users who form a third ofthe mobile Internet market. However, both unicast and multicastbased on a non MBMS 3G network may be prohibitivein a mass market context.High levels of investment are necessaryfor the deployment of proprietary mobileTV technologies based on satellitenetworks. Satellite, therefore, is onlya temporary or complementary choice tobroadcast architectures.WiMAX MCBCS, claims to rendermulticast cost-competitive with broadcasttechnology, and it is scalable to serve themass market. Thus, it forms a long termsolution for the mass consumption ofmobile TV & video applications.
On the access networkside, there are base stations (BSs) anda gateway. In the core network, a MBSController (MBSC) is connected to thecontent server that can operate under thecontrol of an operator or a third party. AAAis employed to perform authentication andauthorization with appropriate user profileinformation, collect billing information,and then send it to the Business OperationSupport System (BOSS). The two ways to provide mobile TVare through unicast and broadcast, andthey differ in three basic aspects: channels(dedicated or common), requirements(individual or general), and tariffs (high orlow). Mobile TV services usually embody abasic service need in the form of programswith mass appeal. Examples include livesporting events and real-time news. Payto-view prime time programs target agiven user group with specific interests,and these are not necessarily live programs.Therefore, Wimax deployment (as in the case of MBMS) suggests using broadcastfor basic services and unicast for targetedservices.