Nathan Burley, Eden Zoller
Qualcomm moves to expand MediaFLO with UK spectrum purchase
Qualcomm has acquired 40MHz (1452-1492MHz) of technology-neutral L-band spectrum covering the entire UK. It acquired the spectrum in an auction from UK regulator Ofcom for £8.334 million ($16.3 million) last week.The L-band spectrum granted to Qualcomm by Ofcom can be used for a range of services, but is not the optimum frequency band for the MediaFLO mobile broadcast TV solution. This is the domain of the UHF band and at the moment this is not due to be available in the UK until the analogue-to-digital switchover in 2012. The UHF band is also the preferred spectrum for the rival mobile broadcast TV standard based on DVB-H, which is backed by Nokia and endorsed by the European Commission, and has been adopted by a growing number of European operators. It is in this context that Qualcomm's motive for picking up the L-band spectrum becomes clear. DVB-H is gaining ground with operators in Europe, and markets where it has been commercially available or is being tested include Italy, France, Finland and Ireland. MediaFLO has been embraced by AT&T and Verizon but has yet to gain a foothold in Europe, and as DVB-H gains ground the window to do this is closing. The L band may not be the ideal spectrum for MediaFLO. but it does give Qualcomm a chance to showcase the technology, which is a decent contender to DVB-H. The latter is still not a done deal in Europe, and if Qualcomm can win over operators and device vendors it might stand a chance of making some impact.The backing of device vendors is particularly important. Despite numerous trials and proven technical capability, a significant barrier holding back Qualcomm's mobile TV technology has been the lack of compatible end-user devices. This is a problem for almost all dedicated mobile TV network standards, and Qualcomm's strategy here is to fix this for MediaFLO and in so doing make it an attractive mobile TV standard globally. In the US, a Qualcomm-owned and driven MediaFLO network with large operator partners has achieved some success to this end, as handset providers follow operators' requests to install the technology. It seems Qualcomm hopes to replicate this strategy in the UK. The execution may be slightly different depending on what partners are involved, but ultimately the spectrum buy is about enabling the global WCDMA handset market with MediaFLO, for which Qualcomm technology is essential. Acquiring spectrum to kick-start a market is a strategy Qualcomm has used before, but it will not be easy. The key will be securing collaboration with essential partners such as broadcasters, content providers and, importantly, mobile operators.
