SES AMERICOM, Hiwire Make Mobile TV, Music Deal

Satellite services provider SES AMERICOM, part of SES GLOBAL, the world’s largest commercial satellite operator, said today it is teaming with Hiwire, a subsidiary of Aloha Partners, to transmit television and music to mobile phones and other handheld devices.

The companies this fall will launch the service as a trial in the Las Vegas area. They said they plan to deliver twice the channels and higher-quality pictures than current mobile TV offerings, using Hiwire's UHF spectrum and SES AMERICOM's satellites and distribution platforms.

Hiwire's mobile TV programming will originate from SES AMERICOM's IP-PRIME IPTV Broadcast Center in Vernon Valley, N.J., where content will be prepared in MPEG-4 format for distribution. The reformatted DVB-H content will then be delivered over the SES AMERICOM satellite distribution network to Hiwire's broadcast distribution towers, where the local channel lineup will be tailored and distributed over Hiwire's terrestrial 700MHz spectrum. Hiwire will integrate its media network programming with the infrastructures of participating wireless carriers to provide services to authorized DVB-H cellular handset subscribers.

"Hiwire is what mobile television consumers want on their pocket-sized screens – high resolution, broadcast-quality programming with more channel choices than any other network can provide," said Bryan McGuirk, president of media solutions for SES AMERICOM. "By leveraging our hybrid programming distribution network and IPTV platform, Hiwire is positioned to provide a fresh, unique mobile TV service to video savvy consumers everywhere."

Aloha Partners claims it owns 12MHz of spectrum covering 60 percent of the United States, but says only one out of four of its licenses can be used for broadband because UHF broadcasters control the frequencies.

Aloha Partners www.alohapartners.net
SES AMERICOM www.geamericom.com/americom/index.php

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