Qualcomm, AT&T in talks over spectrum sale
If sources are to be believed, Qualcomm Inc. has held talks with AT&T Inc. over the possible sale of spectrum the chipmaker acquired for its mobile-television service.
Qualcomm paid $683 million for rights to use the 700 megahertz spectrum in federal auctions between 2003 and 2008, and started Flo TV in 2004 to allow users to watch broadcast TV on their mobile phones. The San Diego-based company suspended sales of Flo TV after it struggled to attract subscribers.
According to Qualcomm Chief Executive Officer Paul Jacobs, he is considering a range of options for the Flo TV business, including putting it in a joint venture or shutting it down and selling the spectrum.
As per the sources, the company has spoken with several carriers, including AT&T. Verizon Wireless, the country’s largest wireless operator, and T-Mobile USA are not currently in talks with Qualcomm.
According to Bill Davidson, a Qualcomm spokesman, the company is in discussions with a variety of interested parties and is continuing to evaluate other options.
FLO TV to add social media
FLO TV, Qualcomm subsidiary has announced that it is going to enhance its mobile TV service with new interactive applications that integrate video with Web-based content and social media tools.
According to FLO TV President, Bill Stone, with consumers’ mobile entertainment habits evolving rapidly, FLO TV will be integrating its current live linear video with relevant, on-demand content and interactive features that complement the programming viewers are watching in real-time.
In his opinion, their innovative, nationwide multicast network is at the heart of this solution and will allow them to distribute live mobile TV and rich mobile media services to a range of new devices from Smartbooks to e-readers and tablets.
The company has also declared that that in addition to integrated experiences, it will be having an expanded suite of Mobile TV services, including interactive capabilities, pay-per-day and event passes, and time-shifted viewing options by the second half of 2010.
With the new services, the users will be able to work upon interactive features that will enable them to interact with programming and advertising, allowing consumers to click for more information about a show or click to buy an advertised product.
AT&T offers MediaFlo – TV services for mobile phones (US)
AT&T offers MediaFlo TV, a cellphone television service, in an effort to gain additional revenue share from mobile devices.
It is a brand new service on a brand new network, and two brand new devices. The service is offered to AT&T customers using the Vu phone from LG Electronics and the Access from Samsung Electronics.
This service offers everything from music to Web surfing to improve its revenue as mobile phone call prices drop.The AT&T MediaFlo content will include full-length shows from CBS, Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile TV, Fox, MTV, NBC 2GO, NBC News2Go and Nickelodeon.
