Qualcomm Wins License For UK L-Band; MediaFLO Coming To Britain?
By Dianne See Morrison - Fri 16 May 2008 02:40 AM PST
Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) announced today that its UK unit has been awarded a license for the country’s chunk of spectrum in the 1452-1492 MHz range, the so-called L Band, recently auctioned by UK regulator Ofcom. The US chip giant paid £8.334 million ($16.24 million) for use of the band, but declined to say what it intends to do with the spectrum, other than to vaguely state in its announcement that it plans to bring “a variety of innovative wireless technologies to the UK market.” It’s safe to say that Qualcomm will import its mobile TV service MediaFLO into the UK. (Its noncommittal wording might have been sparked by its desire to get it right this time following the number of delays that plagued MediaFLO’s launch on AT&T (NYSE: T) in the US.) Aside from wireless broadband and satellite radio, the spectrum is suitable for mobile television. Last year, Qualcomm “successfully” tested MediaFLO services with BSkyB (NYSE: BSY). Meanwhile, the company’s head European honcho, Andrew Gilbert, also bears the title of president of Qualcomm Internet Services, MediaFLO Technologies and Qualcomm Europe.
But will the EU’s recent endorsement of mobile TV standard DVB-H hurt a MediaFlo UK launch? Not necessarily. Though the EC telecoms chief Viviane Reding has been a vociferous champion of DVB-H, European operators aren’t completely sold and are still testing other technologies, including TDtv, DVB-T and DVB-SH among others. Moreover, DVB-H is hampered in Europe by a lack of spectrum.
Ofcom Release | Ofcom’s Full Auction Details
Posted in: Companies, Qualcomm, Entertainment, Mobile Video, Mobile TV
