Abstract

This commentary describes an approach for delivering television content to mobile phones in Canada using over-the-air broadcast signals. Over-the-air television broadcasting to mobile phones is available to our American neighbours but has not been implemented in Canada. We report on a test of mobile TV services, demonstrating access to U.S. signals from Canada. While it is technically feasible to deliver over-the-air mobile broadcasting in Canada, it is likely that vertical integration in the broadcasting and communications sectors is creating barriers to the development of this service. The commentary concludes with some thoughts on how mobile digital television services could be developed for Canadian viewers.

Highlights

  • This commentary describes an approach for delivering television content to mobile phones in Canada using over-the-air broadcast signals

  • Broadcasters that wanted to continue broadcasting in such markets beyond the 2011 analog shutoff date were required to upgrade their transmitters to the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) digital television (DTV) standard

  • Why not Canada? A Canadian broadcaster with whom we spoke blames a “chicken or the egg” scenario for the lack of ATSC MDTV broadcasting in Canada. This explanation suggests Canadian television broadcasters are first waiting for MDTV-enabled devices to be made available to the public before sending out MDTV signals and that mobile device manufacturers are waiting for television broadcasters to start sending MDTV signals before offering MDTV-enabled devices to the public

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Summary

Introduction

This commentary describes an approach for delivering television content to mobile phones in Canada using over-the-air broadcast signals. With ATSC digital television transmitters operational in many Canadian television markets, broadcasters have an opportunity to deliver over-the-air signals to mobile devices. Efforts by American television broadcasters operating under the OMVC to promote mobile television featured MDTV testing in Washington, D.C. and required cooperation with device manufacturer Samsung and wireless service provider Sprint (Ankeny, 2010).

Results
Conclusion

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