The future of mobile TV: why we need it
It's hard to believe that we live in an age when drones and wearable technology tussle for our attention but a seemingly simple thing such as seamless mobile television is still a pipe dream.
Many will remember the excitement of using a portable TV on the go - a 2-inch, fuzzy screen that allowed you to watch sport on the train.
But when those chunky battery-suckers died, the mobile phone was supposed to take over. For the Western world, this simply hasn't been the case.
We have looked on with envy as the likes of South Korea and Japan, where phones have actual extendable aerials, enjoy TV on the go. This is while on-demand and downloads try their hardest to fulfil our television needs - but it's much like putting a sticking plaster on a gaping wound.
Things could well be about to change, though, with chipset manufacturer Qualcomm's new LTE Broadcast technology hoping to usher in a new era of live mobile TV.
With tablets and bigger phones at the fore, we could all soon be enjoying hyper-local news flashes, automatic downloads, multi-cast streaming at sports events and even full-time live TV channels.
It's not going to be easy though: we've already got TV channels served as apps, unlimited data and free Wi-Fi - so will consumers really want to pay for the chance to put the gogglebox properly in their pocket?
Why mobile TV has more than a sporting chance
Well, the answer will be a resounding 'yes' if the technology delivers on what it says it will.
Picture the scene: you are watching some live sports and bite into your burger at the exact moment someone scores and you miss the action.
What Qualcomm is proposing is that with its technology, real-time replays will be available to watch on your handset. And this is without any fear of signal outages.
There have been myriad tests in 'device-dense' locations such as stadiums that prove signals can penetrate the masses without fear of a broadcast blackout.
For instance, back in February, Vodafone Germany became the first European carrier to conduct live tests with LTE Broadcast, which they did in collaboration with Ericsson, Qualcomm Technologies and Samsung.
The trial took place at Borussia Mönchengladbach's football stadium on Saturday 22 February for the Bundesliga match with 1899 Hoffenheim. It was a resounding success.
"There is growing demand for high quality video content on mobile devices and LTE Broadcast gives our customers a brand new mobile media experience," says Eric Kuisch, CTO Vodafone Germany.
"This technology enables multiple broadcast sessions to be viewed simultaneously, so our customers will be able to watch … exclusive video content from the stadium they're in."
According to Kuisch, that can include access to multiple broadcast cameras filming the on-pitch events at various angles.
These are all things that 'second screen' apps can take advantage of, but the best thing about it is that the 'first screen' is actually the live game you are watching.
LTE Broadcast was also trialled at February's SuperBowl XLVIII, where Verizon used a fleet of Samsung Galaxy Note 3 handsets to trial a live stadia TV service branded 'multicast'.
But how is this different to using current apps?
When you watch live TV on your phone – perhaps through a website/app like Sky Mobile or TVCatchup – there's a direct and separate link between your phone and the server.
Try that in a busy sports stadium and it won't work at all. LTE Broadcast sends out live video from each cell tower in the network simultaneously to multiple handsets without disrupting the network.
"It drastically changes the economics [of mobile TV because] you can send rich video content to hundreds of thousands of people in areas with weak LTE coverage," says Carson, "just by sending it once instead of hundreds of thousands of times."
This means that in 'device dense' areas, mobile television shines through. But it doesn't mean it is restricted to sports events.
Though network operators could broadcast live stadium TV geographically – say, from just from one or two mobile towers – it could create hyper-local news alerts 'pushed' to phones in the vicinity, or be used to send out firmware and software updates instantly to thousands of devices simultaneously.
LTE Broadcast could even be used to push specific TV programmes or content into your device without you being aware; personal video recorders in the cloud is a mere rights issue away.
The future of mobile TV: how it works
How does it work?
LTE Broadcast is the way of delivering mobile TV from Qualcomm (it's also known as evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service, or eMBMS). It is part of its Snapdragon processors for flagship Android devices.
The service will use 4G (LTE, or long term evolution) to deliver the data.
"The tech is seamlessly integrated into the LTE [4G] standard so the carrier doesn't have to have a dedicated radio network or dedicate any radio spectrum to offer this service," says Peter Carson, senior director of marketing at Qualcomm in San Diego.
With LTE Broadcast capability in most of the smartphones of the near future, activating services will merely be a decision by the mobile network and handset manufacturers.
But the best bit? There's no data fee involved in watching mobile TV channels – and those channels can come in HD. Better still, Qualcomm tells us that Ultra HD 4K broadcasts could be possible, too.
It works a bit like DVB-T, which is how Freeview HD in the UK is broadcast, whereby a TV signal is distributed to an unlimited number of recipients.
The user only needs an LTE-enabled device with an LTE Broadcast app.
But do we need actually need mobile TV?
There is a huge appetite for consuming video on the go. Strategy Analytics recently conducted a huge survey of mobile users in US, China, France, Germany, Spain and the UK, and found that 72% of users were consuming video on their phones.
"With 4G services arriving there is the bandwidth to actually watch live TV or stream catch up TV for the first time," says Cox. "Mobile operators need to find reasons to get subscribers to upgrade to 4G and TV consumption is a primary reason."
He adds that our loyalty towards our TV provider is something mobile networks are keen to latch on to.
"I change my mobile phone every year and shop around for the best new deal, but I have been with Sky for 12 years," he says. "Mobile operators can use television services to keep subscriber satisfaction high and retain customers."
Why has mobile TV not taken off to date?
"Primarily due to lack of bandwidth," says Cox. "Only now that 4G services have taken off are we really able to see the speeds and reliability that will enable streaming without interruption. Even on 3G this was difficult to achieve."
Qualcomm has been here before, promoting a technology called FLO TV for the US market back in 2007 that was a failure. Using a dedicated network, FLO TV provided TV channels that network operators like AT&T and Verizon could sell on to subscribers. It closed in 2011.
"It failed spectacularly," says Windsor Holden, Research Director at Juniper Research. "Its launch was delayed and there was only two or three model of phones that could receive FLO TV … when Wi-Fi arrived it made streaming more attractive and cut the ground for under the idea of having a dedicated network."
Holden thinks that LTE Broadcast is an interesting development, but struggles to see it making money. "With LTE there's the advantage of using the existing network, but the key has to be live coverage – it's one-to-many so it's efficient and certainly solves the problem of in-stadia coverage – but I'm not entirely convinced about how the business model stacks up," he says.
Could we not just watch TV on Wi-Fi?
It's what we all already do in our homes, and increasingly when we're away from home, too.
"We're getting to the point where Wi-Fi is ubiquitous – it's even on trains – so the physical window for mobile TV is diminishing," says Holden. "Even in areas where there's no Wi-Fi is the LTE coverage good enough to get a good TV signal?"
Whether any of us want, or want to pay for, mobile TV remains on be seen, but our touchscreen devices have reached a size and capacity where it becomes possible.
"The growth in five-inch screens has driven more demand for television services," says Cox, who thinks people are buying tablets instead of second TVs and could be open to new ways of consuming TV and video.
"As broadcasters have seen more and more people watching not live TV, but TV at a time of their choice, they've adapted content with catch-up TV services and personal video recorders," he says. "The next big change in television consumption is based not on time but geography – people watching what they want, when they want, and now where they want."
Could Qualcomm's LTE Broadcast find a niche? Anyone rushing home from work at 5pm on 19 June this year to watch the England Vs Uruguay World Cup match might be able to spot a gap in the market.
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