MediaFLO mobile TV to go live in US

MediaFLO, the mobile TV technology developed by Qualcomm, is expected to get its first commercial outing this weekend, when Verizon Wireless becomes the first operator to launch a service based on the system.

The launch announcement is expected to come during a press briefing on Sunday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs revealed last year that the MediaFLO USA broadcast network would support 50 per cent of Verizon Wireless’s 1x EV-DO network at launch.

If anything, Verizon has definitely been stepping up the expansion of its high speed wireless network, making no fewer than 11 announcements regarding the deployment of EV-DO in new markets in the last three days.

The MediaFLO USA network is Qualcomm’s own subsidiary nationwide mediacast network, operating in the 700MHz band and based on the US chip shop’s own Forward Link Only (FLO) technology. The vendor is offering the network as a shared resource for both cdma2000 1x RTT, 1x EV-DO and WCDMA operators in the country, enabling them to deliver mobile interactive multimedia to their customers without the cost of network deployment and operation.

MediaFLO USA will aggregate and distribute the content from media companies and integrate this content with unique content provided by individual operators. However the Verizon service is expected to launch with fewer than 12 channels, according to reports.