Alcatel continues to keep its hybrid satellite terrestrial DVB-SH mobile TV technology in the news and has just carried out more of a demonstration than a real trial for the technology in Jersey, a UK owned Island with a population of just 90,000 which sites between the UK and Alcatel’s native France.
Given that the European satellite for DVB-SH won’t go up until 2009, this will have been managed with just a few, or even one of the S-Band terrestrial transmitters that are part and parcel of the 2.2 GHz spectrum system which is neatly tailored to sit on towers designed for cellular base stations.
Later this year a genuine long lived trial of the service will be put in place through Jersey Telecom whose customers will also be among the first in Europe to be able to access the service. Another trial in London was alluded to which will happen, says a Jersey Telecom statement, later this year.
Just last month Alcatel announced that it would begin a service in the US to rival Qualcomm’s MediaFLO, using the ICO Global Communications satellite vehicle which will trial, and potentially deploy, a US wide mobile TV DVB-SH service. ICO is controlled by Eagle River Investments, the Craig McCaw owned investment arm which invested $577 million to help bring the company back to life from bankruptcy back in 2000.
Last November Alcatel also partnered with Eutelsat and SMS to launch a satellite for DVB-SH with a European-wide footprint which goes live in 2009.
Jersey Telecom said that it expects DVB-SH compatible handsets by January next year, and reckons its customers will be one of the first in Europe to benefit from the new service. Jersey is an ideal place to try out new telecommunications technology before deploying it at scale.