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Title Mobile Broadcasting(DMB)
Date 2009-03-28 Read 10808
Mobile broadcasting is a new type of broadcasting service which integrates broadcasting and communications. It is a digital content transmission service which allows users to view broadcasting on mobile multimedia devices such as a mobile phones, PMPs, or vehicle TVs. The mobile broadcasting service provided in Korea is divided into S-DMB (Satellite Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) and T-DMB (Terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting), according to the transmission mode and network structure.






S-DMB is a mode in which programs are emitted to a satellite and the satellite emits radio waves to personal mobile terminals or vehicle terminals. Use of S-DMB requires registration and monthly fees. On the contrary, T-DMB is the first technology to be commercialized in Korea based on the European ground wave digital audio broadcasting standard Eureka-147, and is provided for free through a frequency band of analog broadcasting.



TU Media, a subsidiary company of the mobile communications company SK Telecom, executed test S-DMB broadcasting from January 10, 2005, and commenced full-scale broadcasting from May 1 of the same year. S-DMB is a paid service that requires registration, and 2 years after of commencement of commercial service, 1.13 million users are registered as of May 2007.

On the other hand, 6 broadcasting companies (KBS, MBC, SBS, YTN, U1 Media, Korea DMB) in Seoul were selected to utilize T-DMB in March 2005, 4 of which commenced full-scale broadcasting on December 1, 2005, with the other 2 following suit on March 1, 2006. As of 2007, a total of 28 channels (7 video channels, 13 audio channels, 8 data channels) are in service by the aforementioned 6 companies, and the operator diagram and channel status are as follows.






Until now, consumer demand for T-DMB has been higher than that for S-DMB. Analysis suggests that this is because that no other usage fees accrue for T-DMB after the user purchases a terminal, whereas usage of S-DMB entails fees. As of May 2007, 5.33 million terminals that support T-DMB have been sold, and 1.13 million users are subscribing to S-DMB.






On the other hand, T-DMB, which depended on income from advertisements only, commenced expansion of broadcasting into regions outside of Seoul in July 2008 to increase its profitability, and is also attempting to calculate program ratings for the first time in the world.



Mobile phones are viewed as the main device that supports DMB services, and vehicle terminals, PMPs, and USB modules devices are also expected to be main DMB supportive terminals. The following are images of the different types of terminals.























T-DMB, the independent standard of mobile broadcasting commercialized by Korea for the first time in the world, is based on Eureka-147, the European ground wave DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) technology. In other words, T-DMB is a technology developed through the addition of the MPEG-4 AVC (AKA H.264) and beat-error correction technologies in order to additionally provide visuals through Eureka-147, which is audio-based.

The specifications of T-DMB were selected as the World DAB standard in December 2004, and were approved by the ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) in July 2005. In addition, in May 2007, it was adopted as the mobile multimedia broadcasting standard at the ITU held in Geneva, Switzerland, and was finally recognized as the international standard through the written agreement of the member nations of the ITU on December 15 of the same year. The official title given to T-DMB by the ITU is Multimedia System A.

T-DMB continuously provides high-quality audio, video, and data services even during speeds of 200km/h. Because it is based on the Eureka-147 DAB technology, conventional DAB services can also be accessed with a T-DMB terminal. Even though video services have been optimized for screens under 2 to 7 inches, they can also be accessed through 15-inch screens of laptops or desktop computers. Moreover, data services such as news, stock market reports, and weather forecasts can also be accessed.






Technologies that rival Korea's T-DMB on the international mobile broadcasting market are Nokia's DVB-H and Qualcomm's MediaFLO. On the other hand, Japan and China are using ISDB-T and T-MMB, respectively, their independent standards.







Outside of Korea, commercialization of T-DMB was also successful in Germany, China, and Ghana. In Germany, MFD, the DMB broadcasting company, commenced commercial service in May 2006 in 5 cities, including Munich, in collaboration with Debitel, the largest European MVNO. MFD used L-band to provide 4 video channels and 1 audio channel, and charged a fee of €9.95 per month. The establishment of this service has a significant meaning, as it was the first T-DMB service to be commercialized outside of Korea.

Subsequently, T-DMB was commercialized in Shanghai, China, in September 2006, and full-scale T-DMB broadcasting service was commenced in Ghana in May 2008. The advancement of T-DMB services in Ghana is anticipated to proliferate throughout Africa through the 2010 World Cup Games in South Africa.

In addition, export of T-DMB terminals and systems to Indonesia has commenced, and the T-DMB technology is scheduled to be broadly launched in Vietnam, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, South Africa, Argentina, and Brazil.

Moreover, T-DMB is expected to be advantageous in its advancement into Europe, where DAB, the mother technology of T-DMB, is widely used, as it has superior frequency efficiency. In relation to this matter, Norway announced its schedule for a T-DMB test service commencing in April 2009, and France's CSA (Conseil supeieur de l'audiovisuel) also announced its official selection of T-DMB as the mobile multimedia technology to be used in France.

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