Qualcomm’s MediaFLO enters UK by stealth
Rating: UK-wide mobile TV a possibility
In its typical cryptic manner, Qualcomm has casually announced that it has won spectrum in the UK for a bargain £ 8.34 million. It has tried to be coy but it’s obviously intended for MediaFLO TV.The announcement mentions bringing “innovative wireless technologies to the UK market”.
It also says it will use the spectrum “depending on its assessment of market needs in the United Kingdom.”
So we’re all supposed to be kept guessing and in the dark. But who does Qualcomm trot out for the obligatory quote. Enter Andrew Gilbert. Who he? President of Qualcomm Internet Services, MediaFLO, of course. Bit of a clue, eh? MediaFLO being its mobile TV offering and all.
The spectrum is in what’d described as the L-Band which equates to 1452-1492 MHz. Quite frankly that’s a new one on me but perfectly capable of being used for typical cellular applications since it is between 900 MHz (Vodafone, O2) and 1800 MHz (Orange, T-Mobile).
I shouldn’t think Qualcomm will find it hard to add that band into its own chips.
So the big question is … what follows? Maybe, Qualcomm will start its own MediaFLO network and then persuade existing mobile operators to jump on the bandwagon.
Did I mention that the licence covers the entire UK?
Well, I have now.
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