FLO Forum Submits FLO™ Air Interface Specification to TIA Engineering Committee TR-47; Major Step Toward Global Standardization of FLO Technology

Business Wire, Jan 12, 2006

FREMONT, Calif. -- The FLO Forum, an association of wireless industry leaders, announced today that it has officially submitted the FLO(TM) (Forward Link-Only) Air Interface Specification (AIS), the first technical specification produced by the Forum, as a contribution to the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)'s Subcommittee TR-47.1. Engineering Committee TR-47 is responsible for the development and maintenance of Terrestrial Mobile Multimedia Multicast (TM3) standards, and TR-47.1 is the subcommittee focused on FLO technology standardization.

"The submission of the Air Interface Specification to the TR-47.1 engineering subcommittee marks a significant milestone in the progress of global FLO technology standardization," said Dr. Kamil A. Grajski, president of the FLO Forum. "The FLO Forum is preparing additional specifications, including Minimum Performance Specifications for FLO devices and FLO transmitters. These are expected to be ready for submission to Standards Development Organizations (SDO) in early 2006."

The Air Interface Specification defines the radio protocols used over the air between the FLO network and a FLO device for the delivery of multicast services. The AIS enables the delivery of multiple multimedia streams over the standard TV channel allocation bandwidths while ensuring fast service acquisition, robust performance in mobile fading links, and low receiver power consumption.

"The technical submission to the TR-47.1 subcommittee marks a first step towards embracing this technology as a TIA standard," said Dan Bart, senior vice president, Standards and Special Projects, at TIA. "We look forward to working with the FLO Forum as the specification and the TIA Standard progresses. TIA is eager to standardize the technologies used for Terrestrial Mobile Multimedia Multicast."

About FLO Technology

FLO technology is a new air interface with multicasting capabilities designed to increase capacity and reduce content delivery costs to mobile handsets. FLO technology enables mobile users to see and hear high quality video and audio, browse news, sports and weather updates, or watch the stock ticker -- wherever they are, anytime, and without delays.

Designed from the ground up specifically to multicast significant volumes of rich multimedia content, FLO enables wireless operators to cost-effectively deliver news, entertainment, and informational programming in clips and streaming video to millions of mobile users at once. FLO provides the technology for distributing multimedia content efficiently and economically without impacting current networks.

About the FLO Forum

The FLO Forum is a multi-company initiative committed to advancing the global standardization of FLO(TM) technology. Composed of industry-leading organizations, the FLO Forum works to develop products and services, based on FLO technology, that enable the delivery of advanced multimedia services to wireless consumers. The FLO Forum is organized to promote the global standardization of FLO technology, including compliance and certification benchmarks for the technology. For more information on membership and the FLO Forum, please visit www.floforum.org.

FLO is a trademark of QUALCOMM Incorporated. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.