Broadcast video/TV over LTE from Ericsson
February 27, 2012
Telecoms equipment specialist Ericsson has teamed up with chip manufacturer Qualcomm to demonstrate evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services (eMBMS) at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2012 in Barcelona.
Ericsson describes the solution as a highly efficient means of broadcasting content to multiple users simultaneously, utilising LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks and suggests it has the potential to reduce greatly the cost for distribution of popular multimedia content – both for streaming as well as for content delivered during off-peak hours, stored in mobile device memory, and accessed at a time of the user’s choosing.
By introducing eMBMS, operators can make better use of their available spectrum and free up network capacity. In this way, operators will be able to maximise efficiency when offering services such as live TV, video on demand, podcasts and even software upgrades to a large number of mobile devices and set-top boxes, advises Ericsson.
eMBMS may be particularly useful during live events, such as music concerts or sports events, where millions of consumers are simultaneously viewing the same content, and where eMBMS could be used to broadcast complementary content, such as different camera angles for instance, to users of LTE devices.
Johan Wibergh, Executive Vice President, Business Unit Networks, at Ericsson, said the vendor had collaborated with operators, Qualcomm, and a number of other companies in the ecosystem in the development of eMBMS and saw momentum gathering behind this emerging technology.
Peggy Johnson, Qualcomm’s Executive Vice President and President of Global Market Development, suggested that eMBMS would become a key component in addressing the exponential growth in mobile multimedia and application download traffic. “Our focus is now on integrating the full eMBMS capability and service enablers in our LTE chipset product portfolio, paving the way for upcoming commercial eMBMS deployments,” she revealed.
Global commercial products supporting eMBMS are expected to be released to the market in 2014.