TDtv for mobile TV?

The results of the current TDtv mobile TV involving operators 3UK, Telefonica, Orange and Vodafone will be announced at this month’s 3GSM. But NGN has already been told the technology “works and works well”. TDtv uses the 3G broadcast standard Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) but in an idle part of the 3G spectrum. It has several merits for the operators but is a latecomer - see table. It is a technology to watch.

Table: TDtv versus DVB-H, the mobile TV technology frontrunner

Pros	Cons
It uses existing spectrum and sites owned by the 3G operators	Yet to see handset support for TDtv. Limited equipment support too.
It requires simpler and cheaper base stations. The goal is that only one in four base stations will need a TDtv line card.	DVB-H is proven and already deployed commercially. TDtv is some two years behind.
The handset hardware to support TDtv could be made part of the existing 3G chipset compared to a separate DVB-H (or multi-standard) handset IC.	Not all 3G operators has TDD spectrum, Vodafone in the UK for example.
Operator owns and controls one network, which it fully understands.	Higher frequency of operation and hence inferior indoor coverage compared to DVB-H at UHF.