Alcatel and DiBcom today announced that, in the context of Alcatel's "Unlimited Mobile TV" project, the two companies have agreed on detailed cooperation plans to develop a new chipset. This new chipset will support advanced features for unprecedented quality of service and coverage on hybrid terrestrial and satellite architectures. Such capabilities are at the core of ongoing discussions for the evolution of the DVB-H broadcast Mobile TV standards. This evolution makes use of new spectrum in the S-band and improved DVBH-based signal processing techniques.

DiBcom and Alcatel intend to further support the expected growth of Mobile TV in the coming years by creating the conditions for expanded capacity and superior quality of service. This cooperation is part of the "Unlimited Mobile TV" project which the two companies, and other partners, have been preparing for several months and which has just been selected by the French Agency for Industrial Innovation (AII) for public support. This decision will enable the early availability of ubiquitous high-quality mobile TV service for the mass market.

The new chipset, which is intended to progressively integrate the new band characteristics and the enhanced features currently under discussion at the DVB Forum, will allow a smooth path for terminal vendors' development and integration efforts in the new spectrum during 2007, while remaining fully compatible with DVB-H initial deployments in the UHF band. This cost-effective, fully compatible solution is one of the keys to making Mobile TV a high-quality, easy, and ubiquitous experience for consumers across Europe and worldwide.

Olivier Coste, President of Alcatel's mobile broadcast activities, added: "DiBcom's endorsement of the S-Band profile for DVB-H is a strong signal for the Mobile TV industry, as they have proven their leading innovation capability in this domain. This important step will facilitate the development, by 2007, of a large number of terminals with DVB-H capacity both in UHF and S-Band, therefore providing a true unlimited Mobile TV experience to consumers."

* The S-Band (2,170-2,200 MHz frequency range, satellite IMT2000 FDD European allocation) is a telecom frequency band associated with satellite usage. It is adjacent to the 3G/UMTS band and widely available across continents.