The great debate

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The key challenges facing the implementation of next-generation mobile content delivery platforms in the Middle East were hot topics of discussion at SAMENA's recent ‘Beyond Connectivity' industry event in Dubai.

The title of this year's SAMENA Telecommunications Council conference staged in Dubai last month, which was billed as "Beyond Convergence", said much about where telco professionals see the industry going in the next few years.

Indeed, with the convergence of voice and data a given, the industry is now looking at the type of services that will come to define the next generation of mobile devices - and mobile TV is high on the agenda.

Along with topics that included WiMAX deployment, quad-play services and international roaming, mobile TV came under the spotlight at SAMENA's conference. According to Wilson Varghese, president and CEO of Kuwait operator Kalimat Telecom, mobile TV is a massive growth area.

"IDC forecasts that in 2009 one in six handsets will support mobile TV," he explains. Out of 10 subscribers, one will be a mobile TV subscriber."

Varghese argues that several factors are crucial to the success of a mobile TV service. "Subscribers need an all-round performance, in terms of channels, content, switching times, video quality and good coverage, both indoor and outdoors.

It's very important you allocate enough channels. Channel switching is also very important; it should be easy to switch channels just like a normal TV," he continues.

In addition, high quality video and audio and a long lasting battery life will help take-up of mobile TV services. The fact that mobile users needn't purchase a separate device is an obvious, but crucial, consideration.

Operators need to make a delicate balance between these factors. "It's a tradeoff between big-screen and portability, and a trade-off between high-resolution and data rates," he says.

But content is arguably the most important factor. "Content is king: it has to be designed for the mobile TV applications. The most important thing is optimisation of video," Varghese adds.

TV content, whether it is news, sports or music videos, needs to be repurposed for a mobile handset's smaller screen. In addition, specific content can be produced from scratch, delivered into bite-size chunks.

The pervading belief is that people who watch TV on the go don't have the time to sit through a whole 23-minute TV episode. Instead, content providers and operators are looking to four-minute ‘mobi-sodes' as the optimal programme length.

Broadcast versus streaming

While streaming or unicast technologies based on 2.5G, 3G or HSDPA can be used to provide interactive TV services and downloads but only to a limited number of users, broadcast technologies allow operators to send a number of channels to an unlimited number of users.

"3G is mainly used for streaming, which is point-to-point technology, meaning that if you have many users around the same cell at the same time, they quickly saturate the network," explains Wejdi Harzallah, vice president, commercial operations, S2M.

"You cannot sustain a very good quality of video and audio when you want to send the information to a large number of subscribers.

"This is in contrast to broadcasting technologies where you actually send the information to an unlimited number of users, and they always have good quality video and audio as long as they are in the field of broadcast," he adds.

However, the two technologies are complementary. Broadcasting technology allows operators to offer mobile TV services to all their subscribers, on a set bouquet of channels. Heavy users may opt for interactive services via 3G, generating more revenue and adding ARPU for operators.

"When you want to download a video clip, for example, that particular download will be done on an individual basis on a 3G network. That's what 3G is very good at," Harzallah says.

Ahmed Bouna, MEA sales director, Nagravision, agrees: "3G services are complimentary to mobile TV through broadcast. For interactive services, you need to use the 3G network. But the two technologies are complementary and definitely don't compete. Unicast may be used to serve the long tail.

Delivery methods

Terrestrial-only networks are a costly proposition for operators in MENA region. From traditional voice services to wireless broadband, telcos are looking at ways to reduce capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operating costs (OPEX), while ensuring ubiquitous coverage.

"The terrestrial solution gives access to the content where the network is deployed, but it becomes very costly to expand that terrestrial network.

The economies of scale are non-existent in terms of terrestrial platforms," says S2M's Harzallah, trumpeting his company's hybrid satellite and terrestrial solution.

S2M will be available across the whole of MENA, from Morocco to Pakistan. The feasibility study was conducted in 2006, with Arabsat signed on as a strategic partner. The service is scheduled to launch commercial services at the end of the year.

S2M stands for ‘Satellite to Mobile', and uses a satellite to broadcast content directly to devices, including mobile phones, portable media players or in-car devices. However, a terrestrial network of gap-fillers is also deployed to boost the signal, ensuring strong indoor coverage.

The combination of the two ensures access to the service wherever the user is located. The advantages include coverage and costs.

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