Qualcomm to Build National Wireless Media Network

Company would beam music and video to 3G handsets.

Stephen Lawson,IDG News Service

Mobile multimedia content will get its own nationwide network in the United States by 2006 if an $800 million project by Qualcomm goes according to plan.

The San Diego-based wireless technology company, pioneer of CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), plans to build towers around the country to beam music and video to several types of 3G (third-generation) handsets: CDMA2000-1x, 1xEV-DO (Evolution-Data Only) and WCDMA (Wideband CDMA). The network will use the 700-MHz radio spectrum for which Qualcomm already owns licenses, the company said in a statement Tuesday.

Cellular operators expect mobile multimedia to be a key driver of 3G use. Qualcomm aims to save them the trouble and expense of building their own infrastructure for delivering multimedia services.

More Than Twin Towers

Through a subsidiary called MediaFLO USA, Qualcomm plans to offer the network as a shared resource for mobile operators and to provide interactive multimedia services in conjunction with the operators. In addition to aggregating and distributing content from TV stations and networks, cable and satellite operators, and other providers, MediaFLO will integrate unique content that each cellular carrier offers to distinguish itself from competitors, according to Qualcomm.

The use of spectrum in the relatively low-frequency 700-MHz band will allow MediaFLO to build a network with far fewer towers--30 to 50 times fewer, according to Qualcomm--than are required for conventional cellular systems. The system will be based on Qualcomm's FLO (Forward Link Only) technology, and the company expects to start operating the network commercially in 2006. It will require an investment of about $800 million, some of which may be funded by third parties, the company said. Qualcomm plans eventually to spin off the MediaFLO business to its shareholders.

The MediaFLO network will be able to support 50 to 100 channels of national and local content, including as many as 15 live streaming channels in addition to channels featuring video clips and audio. Qualcomm expects to beat current mobile multimedia quality levels, offering audio in stereo and video in QVGA (Quarter Video Graphics Array) format at 30 frames per second, according to the statement.