DVB-H Services For New York And Beyond In 2006

Modeo, formerly known as Crown Castle Mobile Media, announced today that it will begin rolling out DVB-H services in the top 30 markets across the USA this year. The service is previewed at a trade show in Las Vegas this week on devices from a number of manufacturers, including Motorola and Nokia. 2006 will also see the launch of DVB-H services in Italy. Leading mobile entertainment industry analysts, including Frost & Sullivan and IDC, project the mobile video market will exceed $1.5 billion by 2009.

The following text is taken from a Crown Castle International news release:

HOUSTON, Jan 04, 2006 — Crown Castle Mobile Media LLC has changed its name to Modeo(TM) LLC (“Modeo”) and announced that it plans to deliver live mobile TV to the top 30 markets across the United States. Visitors at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week will get a preview of Modeo’s service in demonstrations with several of the world’s largest device manufacturers, including Motorola, Inc., and Nokia Corp.

Modeo, a subsidiary of Crown Castle International Corp., has unencumbered spectrum rights and unique expertise across wireless network, broadcast and content platform operations necessary to bring this innovative media service to market. During 2005, Modeo successfully piloted its DVB-H mobile broadcast network in Pittsburgh. Modeo plans to launch the service commercially during 2006 in select major U.S. markets, including New York City. Modeo is currently working on a nationwide deployment of its network to the top 30 U.S. markets, with launches targeted throughout 2007.

“Modeo is designed to deliver a superior mobile video experience so that consumers can enjoy shows wherever and whenever they choose,” said Michael Schueppert, President of Modeo. “Our marketing campaign, ‘Modeo: For the love of TV’, emphasizes our focus on providing a fun and easy-to-use service that delivers popular news, sports, music and entertainment to a broad range of mobile devices including cell phones, laptops, portable media players, personal digital assistants and more.”

Modeo is planning to offer a compelling package of live video and audio channels and be the world’s first mobile broadcast network to support podcasting. Podcasting is a term used to describe the distribution of recorded audio or video programs over internet protocol networks like DVB-H. Modeo subscribers then will be able to download dozens of video podcasts and hundreds of audio podcasts each week directly to their mobile device. Video services are designed to be broadcast in digital TV quality at QVGA resolution at up to 30 frames per second, significantly exceeding the quality offered by first generation mobile video products.

Leading mobile entertainment industry analysts, including Frost & Sullivan and IDC, project the mobile video market will exceed $1.5 billion by 2009. Multicast networks like Modeo, which use the global standard DVB-H technology, are expected to be the largest and fastest growing segment of the mobile video market. DVB-H trials are underway in several countries, including the U.S., Germany, Finland, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Australia and Singapore. The standard is supported by leading wireless and technology firms including Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Texas Instruments, Intel, Philips and Microsoft.

For more information on Modeo, please visit www.modeo.com
For more information on DVB-H, please visit www.dvb-h-online.org