Cema Proposes Mobile Service

Television Digest with Consumer Electronics, August 2, 1999

Spectrum now used for TV Ch. 60-62 and 65-67 should be allocated exclusively to new mobile communications service to be called Mobile Multimedia Bcst. Service (MMBS), CEMA said in comment on FCC rulemaking (WT 99-168) to allocate spectrum to be returned as part of DTV transition. In little-noticed filing, CEMA proposed that special advisory committee, similar to FCC's HDTV Advisory Committee, be created to select technology standard for MMBS, saying such service would "maximize government revenues from potential future auction of this spectrum." CEMA said it plans "discovery group" meeting Sept. 15 in Washington to further gauge interest in MMBS.

It wouldn't be in public interest if FCC set generic rules for use of spectrum to be freed up, CEMA said, since opening spectrum "to a variety of incompatible uses [would] preclude the development of a new, national mass media market." As result, it said, Commission should auction spectrum only after MMBS technology is defined and should designate entire 36 MHz for MMBS. CEMA said MMBS is "an exciting and historic opportunity" for FCC to create all-new service.

Services could include "free and over-the-air, high-quality, multichannel audio programming," it said, as well as news and information services and high-capacity data services that would provide "seamless, robust and interference-proof reception in the mobile environment." Such services would "offer broadcasters an opportunity to participate in the digital revolution," CEMA said. Filing said UHF channels to be returned (740-764 MHz and 776-794 MHz) "are ideally placed and provide enough bandwidth to create a successful nationwide MMBS."

MMBS audio service would be similar to proposed in-band, on- channel digital audio broadcast (IBOC) service, but CEMA said "it remains to be demonstrated that an IBOC approach can provide Compact Disc audio quality, compatibly, with robust coverage and performance," while MMBS could offer CD-quality 5.1-channel audio. It said satellite digital audio services are likely to be subscription based.

MMBS would be optimized for mobile reception under proposal. Mobile reception is key, CEMA said, since mobility is becoming more important. It said research shows 44% of households already own wireless phone, 14% of consumers use mobile computer regularly, and there's high demand for remote access to Internet, voice mail, computer files. CEMA, which has been opposing switch to COFDM for DTV (TVD July 26 p6), said it's ideal for MMBS service since "past studies have demonstrated the advantages [of COFDM] to overcome difficult mobile multipath reception environments."

Higher speed data services made possible by MMBS "could spawn the creation of services to the public we have not yet even considered," CEMA said. For example, it said, MMBS could be important component of intelligent transportation systems or for delivering emergency data: "If the data rate available in MMBS can be flexibly distributed over different program/data channels (with the use of the COFDM ensemble structure), the data capacity can be dynamically changed, depending on service offerings and requirements."