Qualcomm’s MediaFLO is finally set to kick off in the States. MediaFLO is the cellphone chip and cell infrastructure-maker’s solution for mobile TV. Instead of trying to squeeze more data into the already crowded cellphone spectrums, Qualcomm decided to use the relatively wide-open spectrum owned by UHF TV. But this spectrum is regulated by the FCC and is meant for (very) old-school analog TV.
The solution Qualcomm came up with is sneaky and smart, was to buy licenses all over america on the same UHF frequency (UHF channel 55), and use that frequency for the digital, mobile TV MediaFLO puts out. The FCC has commanded that analog broadcasters cede the upper UHF frequencies to digital content providers by 2009. Buy buying up this spectrum nationally, and using it digitally, Qualcomm gets a 3-year head start.
As long as the digital broadcasts do not interfere too much with the neighboring analog frequencies, as the FCC has finally ruled, you could be seeing digital mobile TV on your phone shortly, without having to pay cell bandwidth premiums, and “Weird” Al won’t get pissed off.
With some restrictions, FCC allows Qualcomm’s MediaFLO to move forward [RCR News]