Broadcasters, Network Operators and Leading Technology Companies to Conduct Consumer Mobile Digital Television Trials

Open Mobile Video Coalition, LG Electronics/Harris Corporation, Samsung Electronics, Rohde & Schwarz and SES AMERICOM to Test New Mobile Digital TV Technologies with Consumers in 2008

LAS VEGAS — The Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), an alliance of U.S. commercial and public broadcasters committed to the development of mobile digital television, today announced it plans to work with SES AMERICOM’s IP-PRIME® to test two new mobile digital television technologies in separate consumer trials in 2008. The two new technologies are the MPH™ (Mobile-Pedestrian-Handheld) platform jointly developed by LG Electronics and Harris Corporation, and the A-VSB platform developed by Samsung Electronics, Co. Ltd., and Rohde & Schwarz, both of which have performed well in preliminary technical trials conducted by OMVC members. The focus of the new trials announced today is not only to perform additional technical trials, but also to test each mobile system with consumers, and to understand consumer acceptance, behavior and preferences regarding potential mobile television services and performance criteria.

It is planned that several test markets will be jointly selected by the OMVC and the leaders of each set of trials. A sample of consumers will be chosen to receive and test mobile video content that will be broadcast to mobile and portable receiver devices, such as cell phones, personal media players and laptop computers. These consumers will be able to watch a selection of local and national content and interactive services, and their usage will be tracked to monitor and better understand their preferences. At the end of the trial, the OMVC and its partners will be able to predict consumer usage patterns and system performance to support the launch of mobile digital television services targeted for 2009.

“Broadcasters are focused on launching mobile digital television services in 2009, and these consumer trials are a critical component of our due diligence to determine the best way to offer mobile television to consumers,” said OMVC Chairman Brandon Burgess. “We are excited to be working with the leading networking and technology companies to further that understanding.”

Certain broadcasters among the 800 OMVC member stations will be selected to provide the transmission infrastructure and local content for the trials in each market. As one of the content sources for the OMVC’s consumer trials, SES AMERICOM will provide mobile broadcast network platform services, and aggregate and distribute national content, using the expertise it has developed from its industry leading IP-PRIME® video distribution platform and from operating a 24-channel mobile television trial network in Las Vegas in 2007.

In MPH trial markets, Harris Corporation will provide MPH in-band digital television transmission equipment, and LG Electronics will provide MPH consumer receiver devices. LG Electronics, LG’s U.S. R&D subsidiary Zenith, and Harris jointly developed the ATSC-compatible MPH to provide robust over-the-air DTV signals and data to mobile, pedestrian and handheld devices. Building on the 8-VSB ATSC DTV standard developed by Zenith, key MPH capabilities include advanced channel coding known as “SCCC,” which assures reliable reception of DTV signals on mobile and portable devices even under severe Doppler and multipath signal conditions. Among other features, LG’s “time slicing” technology helps maximize battery life on portable MPH devices. Setting the stage for the 2008 consumer trials, MPH-equipped LG-brand mobile phones and portable navigators, as well as prototype in-car MPH solutions from automotive electronics leader Kenwood Corporation, are being demonstrated publicly for the first time this week at the 2008 CES.

In A-VSB trial markets, Samsung’s partner, Rohde & Schwarz, will provide transmission equipment based on the A-VSB in-band mobile digital television system, and Samsung will provide A-VSB consumer devices. Additional partners in the A-VSB trials include interactive service provider MobiTV and network equipment provider Nokia Siemens Networks, as well as SES AMERICOM. Samsung developed A-VSB as a proposed open standard that broadcasters can implement at low cost, and to enable consumers to enjoy TV everywhere they go: in their car, on a laptop and on mobile phones and other portable devices. A-VSB technology builds on the current ATSC transmission standard to enable mobile TV reception while preserving backward compatibility with current TV services and receivers. It enables broadcasters to include multiple “turbo coded” mobile streams along with their backward-compatible main stream. In addition, the A-VSB technology eases synchronization of broadcast signal timing of different towers in an optional Single Frequency Network (SFN). SFNs can improve broadcast quality with higher uniform signal strength throughout a service area, even in locations that normally would have their signals interfered with by obstacles such as hills or buildings.

Dr. Woo Paik, LG Electronics President and Chief Technology Officer, said, “We are enthusiastic about MPH’s capability to deliver over-the-air DTV signals of local and national content, as well as data broadcasting services, to mobile devices, in addition to providing full HDTV service using the existing ATSC transmitters and towers. The consumer trials we are planning to conduct will provide valuable consumer insights for both broadcasters and device manufacturers to launch the MPH mobile TV service in 2009.”

Howard L. Lance, Chairman, President and CEO of Harris Corporation, applauded the OMVC consumer trials, saying, “MPH technology responds to what broadcasters want – an additional capability that leverages digital technology to reach a very mobile society. MPH creates a very compelling business model that requires a comparatively small investment and uses existing content and infrastructure to significantly expand broadcast coverage area and available audience.”

Peter Cho, Senior Vice President, Digital Media R&D for Samsung, said, “Samsung was the first to publicly demonstrate mobile TV using local broadcasters’ current frequencies and transmitters in January 2007, and we are very pleased to be working with the OMVC in 2008 to help broadcasters successfully launch exciting new mobile services in 2009.”

John Pannucci, President and COO of Rohde & Schwarz America, said, “Rohde & Schwarz is pleased to participate in this important effort by the OMVC, and we look forward to helping broadcasters launch mobile services in the near future.”

Bryan McGuirk, President of Media and Enterprise Services for SES AMERICOM, said, “Based on our decades-long heritage of working with broadcasters, we believe that the delivery of mobile television using digital broadcast TV spectrum has great potential for broadcasters and consumers. The OMVC will be a powerful force in readying the broadcast industry as well as the marketplace for this next-generation TV service.”

All the companies share the common goal of facilitating the development of mobile television services in the U.S., and have been working with the OMVC on technical trials. The consumer trials will further enhance the understanding of market-related issues on how to launch mobile DTV. Details of the trials, to be held in 2008, will be announced later.