Eleven large, influential European companies are backing a mobile TV implementation they say could “speed up large scale mobile TV deployments in Europe.” The Broadcast Mobile Convergence (BMCo) Forum's implementation profile of OMA BCAST requirements enables fast, interoperable, future-proof implementations, the Nokia-led group says.

The vote of confidence in the BMCo profile was led by Nokia, which issued a press release about it yesterday. Therein, a Nokia spokesperson likened the profile to “the early days of development of GSM,” in terms of industry commitment.

Other BMCo profile backers listed in the Nokia statement include:

• Digitenne, a Dutch DVB-T service provider
• Ericsson, a communications services and equipment provider
• KPN, a Dutch provider of mobile voice/data/video services
• Nokia, world's largest handset vendor, also sells infrastructure equipment
• Nokia Siemens Networks, a global communications service provider
• NXP Semiconductors, a semiconductor spin-out from Dutch electronics giant Philips
• Sony Ericsson, a mobile phone vendor
• Telefonica O2 Europe, a European mobile and fixed network operator
• T-Mobile, a leading mobile carrier in Europe
• Vodafone, a global mobile communications group
• ZTE, a global, China-based fixed and mobile telecom equipment vendor

The BMCo Forum is an international industry group striving to shape an “open market environment for mobile broadcast services,” according to its website. It currently boasts 91 member companies.

The OMA's BCAST specification aims to define “end-to-end” requirements for mobile broadcast services, including “service discovery, service guide,
provisioning, content and service protection, real-time streaming distribution, file distribution, and charging.”

The three main BCAST features supported by the BMCo Forum profile, as listed by Nokia, include:

• Advanced service and program guide (ESG) enabling a rich set of services
• Support for multiple broadcast technologies
• Support for content and service protection, using the Smart Card Profile (based on (U)SIM Card) or the DRM Profile (based on OMA DRM V2.0)

Additional details may be available on the BMCo Forum website.

Meanwhile, across the pond, ATSC — whose voluntary digital TV tuner standards are now mandated for TVs sold in the U.S. — earlier this week announced it would spin an ATSC-M/H (mobile/handset) specification aimed at enabling digital broadcasters to fit mobile stations into their existing signals.

 
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