Wireless

March 31, 2005
Tremendous opportunity for mobile TV/IPTV in India

Geetanjali Wadhwa & Pradeep Chakraborty

NEW DELHI -- "Honey, I shrunk the TV," screams an advertisement hoarding from a leading mobile phone operator across India. Now, how is that possible? Quite simply, mobile operators believe that offering television content over mobile phones or 'mobile TV' will be the next leading revenue generator. Hence, some of them have taken the advantage of higher data speeds offered by EDGE (enhanced data rates for 3G evolution) to provide mobile television content over some specific EDGE-enabled handsets. Not that the same content cannot be offered over GPRS or higher variants of CDMA. As they say, it is the download speed that matters!

Then, there is the IP TV service! This can be offered over set-top boxes that directly work with IPTV middleware solutions. Combined, both would add tremendous firepower to the operators' arsenal. Karthik Ranjan, director of product marketing at Amino, said: "Our experience is that the official forecasts greatly underestimate the market potential of IPTV in India. Depending on the success of the operators' deployment plans, it is quite possible that within two to three years, over 5 million subscribers could be receiving IPTV services in India." Kim Lindholm, CEO, Fun to Phone Solutions Oy (Fun2Phone), noted that the potential of mobile TV/ IPTV services in India was equal to any other market. Fun2Phone delivers tools to enable interactivity on TV, and interactive program formats currently.

Big future for mobile TV/IPTV
Commenting on the potential of mobile TV/IPTV in India, Stephen Reeder, executive director, sales and marketing, ANT Ltd., said: "We are aware of a number of telcos already introducing IPTV trials in India. Reliance Infocomm Ltd. has trials in progress and Atlas Interactive India has commenced its ambitious plans for 38 cities across India and is starting to develop a service for Delhi. There is definitely tremendous opportunity in India. If the service offering is compelling enough and the technology infrastructure can be established, the IPTV industry has a big future in the country."

This must be considered in the light of the already sizeable cable and satellite infrastructure with around 50 million subscribers and growing. The success of IPTV will depend, as always, upon the value proposition - on the subscriber services being offered compared with other services, and on successful implementation of the last mile strategies and sorting out any technology issues.

Reeder added the outlook was good, as the Indian government has recognized the importance of a modern telecom network. Consequently, the rapid growth of the Indian telecommunications infrastructure during the 1990s, combined with government support and investment has now created an ideal environment for IPTV services to flourish. "The installed telephone lines can easily cope with the higher data rates required for high-speed broadband Internet access and the bandwidth usually required to provide high-quality television streaming over the same line," he noted.

According to him, today's IPTV solutions utilize a range of standards, including: video streaming standards such as MPEG2/4, WMV, H.264; user interface standards such as HTML 4.01, CSS, DOM, ECMAscript; and security such as SSL. "However, the IPTV space is still innovating. While many aspects are based on standards, there are areas that are still very much evolving, for example, digital rights management (DRM) or conditional access (CA). This can prevent a specific set-top box from directly working on other IPTV middleware solutions. Today, it is more important to look at the key middleware companies supplying the end-to-end solution - such as Alcatel," he added.

Jawahar Kanjilal, director, Rich Media and Music Business Program, Multimedia, Nokia Asia-Pacific, said: "Mobile TV brings the broadcast world to the mobile generation! By bringing the power of broadcast TV to the mobile device, mobile TV creates significant opportunities for entities at every step of an emerging value chain -- from the traditional TV broadcasters and production companies to content aggregators and provisioning firms, cellular network operators, e-commerce companies, handset vendors, infrastructure vendors and others. Those and other organizations recognize the tremendous potential for mobile TV, and many are now collaborating to bring this market to fruition."

According to research findings, consumers are keen to have TV on their mobile devices. In fact, the findings show that consumers would even consider paying a monthly subscription for the service because they see it as a valuable one. He added: "India has a vibrant TV industry and a rapidly growing mobile subscriber base. The mobile TV is well placed to take full advantage of the convergence between the broadcast and the mobile communications industries in India."

Satish Kejriwal COO, Cellnext Solutions Ltd., noted: "The TV in a handset is a whole new paradigm. It will change the whole face of TV. TV on mobile is all about technology advancements and expectations. Not only is the number of subscribers rising, technical platforms and networks in the mobile domain are rising as well. Additional faces of the cell phone range from an alarm clock, address book, messaging device to weather service, news service, bank, travel planning guide and most importantly, entertainment device. Though relatively basic in technology and form, spectacularly successful entertainment offerings have already demonstrated the potential of mobile phone as an entertainment device. The capability of the mobile phone is quickly improving in terms of the screen resolution, number of colors, phone memory, processing power, codecs, bandwidth, etc."

He added that this evolution is being taken further by bringing TV on mobiles. As compared to ringtones and pictures, TV on mobile is a big leap forward in terms of the value that it delivers to the viewers and channels, as well as to the operators for increasing their ARPUs, subject to network acceptability.

"In a global perspective, one analysis tells us that there could be up to 270 million subscribers worldwide with TV functionality on their mobile phones by 2009. Right now, everybody is looking for applications that create reasons to stay on their networks. The more killer applications they offer, the better. In India too, there will be a great demand for mobile TV services, if these are priced and packaged correctly. The convergence of consumer applications on mobile wireless devices has shown that consumers want the ability to take their living room entertainment experience with them when they're on the go. Mobile TV viewers may not tune in for half-hour sitcoms, but they may well tune in for a 'snack' of news or sports while waiting in line at the airport or riding in a taxi and/or watch the last two overs of a tight finish to a one-day cricket match," he explained.

DVB-H standard for mobile TV
Commenting on the standard for mobile TV, Nokia's Kanjilal added: "A mobile TV device will receive the TV broadcast signal over a broadcasting network like a DVB-H (digital video broadcast - handheld) network, which is 'optimised' for mobile broadcasting. However, the interactivity aspects of the TV programs are delivered via the mobile networks (GPRS, EDGE or 3G) on the same device. For instance, when you vote or SMS, while watching the TV program, your response will be carried over the mobile network."

The DVB-H standard is based on the DVB-T standard, a widely accepted standard for the living room digital TV. Key industry players, such as broadcasters, broadcast network operators, mobile network operators and equipment vendors are all collaborating in defining a global standard for the benefit of all parties. Late last year, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) announced that the DVB-H would be adopted as the standard for mobile TV services in Europe. DVB-H is also under discussion in many other global standardization bodies.

The DVB-H (DVB-handset) was recently in the news as the broadcast standard for mobile TV. Commenting on the typical storage requirements for mobile TV, Reeder said mobile TV using a burst broadcast standard such as DVB-H required only a small cache, given the lower screen resolutions of such devices. This really worked effectively over 3G networks. Larger portable devices are likely to need significantly more memory to better buffer against signal dropouts, he advised.

For portable video recorder devices, the storage amount is a factor of the product. "It would be possible to store a couple of movies on 1GB of storage, although most products are currently aiming at either 5GB or 20GB sizes," he added. Reeder said that DVB-H products are currently under development and in trials with vendors like Nokia.

Cellnext's Kejriwal said: "Mobile TV services need to have some extremely advanced technology to make sure that you are receiving the signal clearly in the small handheld mobile. You might have five, six or seven different frequencies coming into or going out of your phone simultaneously, like GSM, GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and digital TV. To get clean video signal with regard to fluid motion, you need to have some very advanced host-processing architectures, tightly coupled into the platform-dedicated accelerators devoted to that technology."

According to him, the two topmost standards are DVB-H and terrestrial-digital mobile broadcast (T-DMB) and more mobile-broadcasting technologies continue to proliferate. These range from Japan's integrated services digital broadcasting-terrestrial (ISDB-T) standard to South Korea's satellite-digital mobile broadcast (DMB-S) to MediaFLO - forward-link only in the United States. The FLO is optimized for mass delivery of multimedia content to mobile devices. "I would say that the choice is "intensely regional, directly tied to telecom issues, national deployment and frequency planning," he said.

As for when will the move to the DVB-H standard take place for mobile TV, the Nokia spokesperson said that DVB-H is gathering significant momentum globally a standard for mobile TV. He elaborated that the ETSI recently announced that DVB-H would be adopted for as the standard for mobile TV services in Europe. "DVB-H is also under discussion in many other global standardization bodies. In the UK, ntl's Broadcast division and O2 have announced the UK's first usability trial of multi-channel TV to mobile phones. In Finland, broadcast, content and mobile communications companies, including Nokia, have come together to implement a pilot that will test a commercial broadcast service for mobile devices. Mobile TV trials were also conducted in Germany last year," added Kanjilal.

Kejriwal agreed that some parts of the world, namely Europe, have adopted the DVB standard, as it is largely believed to drive the convergence of broadcast and mobile services. He said: "Elsewhere, other non-DVB markets have developed their own standards for mobile TV transmission. In fact, we have also done a lot of research into the area as to what the market needs in terms of technology and what would tickle the interest of channels to come in for this. The observation is that it will not be an impulsive move to any standard as we can always deploy one or the other standard suiting our market needs. For more on DVB-H, we find that DVB-H-based mobile TV services initially depend on two separate networks -- terrestrial broadcast and mobile networks. This dual-network structure for the mobile network operators has its own USPs. So, before deciding the time for this move, we should also debate on the reason for this move. But yes, the move should always be toward open standards."

He gave examples such as Sydney-based Bridge Networks, which is likely to conduct Australia's first trial of DVB-H technology in mid-2005. In the United States, Crown Castle and Nokia will pilot DVB-H to bring TV-like services to mobile devices. The pilot started last October in the Pittsburgh area, and it aims to prove and test the feasibility of DVB-H and related service systems in the United States. Later on, the pilot will be expanded to test consumer experiences and acceptance of mobile phone TV service.

Accounting for MPEG2/4, legacy standards, etc.
How are factors such as MPEG2/4, legacy standards, bandwidth, etc., taken into account? Reeder said that today's deployments are typically well controlled, with known servers delivering specific content using known standards over fast, local IP networks. In some respects, the early rollouts are comparable to cable deployments, although these are more cost effective and with more opportunities in the longer term. "Bandwidth is the main issue, but that is relatively cheap to upgrade, especially when considering the revenue opportunities for service on top," he noted

Rajan said: "There are some MPEG2 trials, and deployments are likely to be in MPEG4 (H.264), which will enable more consumers to be reached over existing connections. As our current product development efforts are focused on low-cost, value-engineered products for MPEG4, we expect to enable mass-market MPEG4 deployment in the same way that we enabled mass-market deployment for MPEG2."

Kejriwal said that content services pay a huge price in terms of network bandwidth. A few subscribers downloading high-bandwidth streaming video can absorb much of the available bandwidth in a cell, increasing the likelihood of interrupted voice service. So, bandwidth is certainly a limitation and there have been some steps for overcoming this, including: Lowering bandwidth before transmission by encoding video signals into MPEG1, 2 and 4 formats multicasting, which enables the delivery of multiple services to multiple devices, thereby improving distribution interactivity and presentation of the media.

"In addition, the quality of streaming video over the cellular network is disappointing, because the transmission rates-one to 15 frames per second-are much slower than the 25 to 30 frames/second to which TV viewers are accustomed to. All of these are being taken into account, and in fact, much R&D surrounds these issues to help technology evolve in much sophisticated manner so that a perfect business case is delivered for all in the industry."

Kanjilal added that MPEG2 is the standard used for audio/video coding in traditional digital TV. For TV-like experience on a handheld device with smaller screen, the next-generation MPEG standard (MPEG4-AVC) is an optimal selection. He said: "Bandwidth depends on what modulation scheme is used. The number of channels that can fit into the overall bandwidth is determined by what content is being transmitted. For example, a news channel may require a lower bandwidth as compared to a sports channel. Legacy standards are not taken into account, as this is a new standard. Based on the existing DVB-T standard, DVB-T receivers are unable to receive DVB-H signals and vice-versa, due to the unique properties of DVB-H that allow mobility, indoor coverage and operation on small screen devices with low power consumption requirements.

Multicasting already being used
Multicasting is already used for things like set-top box firmware updates and broadcast of electronic program guides (EPG) in the IPTV space. Kejriwal said that multicasting is a unidirectional, point-to-multipoint service like broadcasting, except that it can verify whether a receiver is a paying customer. Thus, users must have a receiver as well as a service account. The initiatives taken for multicasting technology came from the need to have an alternative to digital broadcasting. Necessary steps have been taken to allow technology to accommodate streaming of content over 3G networks, to transmit in a specified-megahertz range. All of this has been tried on platform requiring 30-50 times fewer towers than a cellular network.

Kanjilal added that multicasting is used as a technology that is suitable for traffic distribution in the network backbone. Multicast is also used in the broadcast (i.e., receive only) in the mode. Only the cellular network is used for the return path for interacting back with the broadcast programs.

Mobile/IP TV security via Web technologies
Certain security standards have been adopted for mobile/IPTV as well. Reeder said that IPTV security is taken care of through a number of standard Web technologies such as firewalls, digital signatures and secure socket layers (SSL), while conditional access and DRM secures signed content for use on the set-top box. He said that ANT software contains all the typical browser style security features. However, he pointed out that the system integrator or middleware company implements the full end-to-end security model for a given IPTV deployment. This combined client and server security model addressed typical attacks, such as denial of service, man in the middle attacks, and spoofing etc.

Rajan at Amino added: "It appears that most IPTV operators are conscious of the requirement for security measures (conditional access or DRM) to protect the content owners' property, and also ensure access to valuable, premium content. However, as yet, no one standard or preference has emerged. Fortunately, Amino has experience of working with all of the major CA vendors, so we are in a good position to both guide and support the operators in choosing and deploying appropriate security technology."

According to Cellnext's Kejriwal, the prevalent security standards as adopted by the channels and broadcasters will be relevant for video streaming on mobile. The application developer will enable the mobile handset to view the content of the broadcasters, which would have condensed or streamed live after thorough security checks at the broadcaster's end. The operators will ensure that the video consumes defined bandwidth in the network, which is under their security standards. Nokia's Kanjilal said that a fully specified standard for service and content protection is being currently being specified in the DVB standard. "It builds on the OMA DRM, which is being updated to fit the needs of broadcast environment."

As for storage requirements for mobile TV, Kanjilal added that being a broadcast platform, storage would not be required as the content can be viewed in real time. Kejriwal said there are limits as to how much network capacity can be diverted away from phone calls and wireless Internet access. Just as they interfere with calls, gaps in network coverage may disrupt a TV feed. "From the device end, while screen quality has improved, TV presents a challenge in terms of battery life, processing power and storage requirements."

Joint efforts required to raise the bar
Given the potential of mobile/IPTV services, how should broadcasters and operators work together and create a unique set of services? Kanjilal said that mobile TV offers massive market opportunities for all, but to make it happen, telecom, media and broadcasting industry players have to work together. "While content providers, broadcasters, mobile operators or broadcast network operators implement the service, we at Nokia are developing the technology and TV handsets with integrated DVB-H to make mobile TV part of everyday life," he added.

According to Reeder, the key is to raise the bar and focus joint efforts into services that benefit the user and generate revenue. "By targeting leading standards and leading IPTV suppliers, they can save time and money and get deployments rolling faster. Once the basic elements of the service are in place, they will gain the ability to supply and re-brand those services via multiple channels."

As an example, a broadcaster can deliver MPEG-based programming, combined with Web-standards based interactive content. By using something as simple as the latest Cascading Style Sheets standards (CSS 2.1, CSSTV, CSS3), they can separate the content from the style and therefore, easily deliver the same service through multiple operators, ISPs or telcos. This technique can be used to add differentiating features and services in order to compete better and can even be used for branding and advertising purposes.

He added: "Focusing on standards and services that matter will eventually lead to the ability to interchange set-top boxes and indeed see IPTV services built into the TV itself. At this point, the market will really open up and drive the pricing as volume rises. This freedom will allow broadcasters and operators to focus resources onto new services and opportunities across a wider range of networks, rather than being concerned with targeting the same services over multiple networks."

Kejriwal said that this collaboration would be of two culturally very different worlds of telecom and entertainment. Again, application developers and content providers would play a big role in smoothening this collaboration. As all of these players engage themselves in the process of discovering new mobile mass-media market models, new perspectives are being obtained on such concepts as the 'mass market of niche interests', and micro marketing.

He added: "Even if mobile TV is being hyped by the mobile phone industry as the next big application, the users will ultimately determine its success. Which brings us to the issue of the screen size. Frame rates and resolutions are improving, but images are -- and will remain -- difficult to make out and view for long periods on a small screen. That is why we see the future of mobile TV not in movies or entire shows, but in condensed content streamed to handsets on demand. Users will be keen to watch for 30s or two minutes or even four minutes of news or sports or a video clip. However, they will not be watching a movie or a soap opera on a small screen. Pricing, too, will be critical. Where the nascent market for mobile TV is headed is anyone's guess. However, one thing is certain: it is gaining momentum. So let all of us stay tuned."

Fun2Phone's Lindholm noted that the Indian operators especially [and this applies to others as well], who take 75 percent from SMS premium revenues, should consider lowering their fees, as this greedy business model does not drive content providers to develop their offerings in India. "The end-user fees are already a record low, and by taking a majority share of the already low fees is not going to create a unique set of services at all. "For example, in China, operators take only 10-15 percent as against 75 percent in India. Guess where the content owners will go first?"