Ministry Picks ISDB over MediaFLO
MIC sided with DoCoMo-led ISDB-Tmm proposal, over MediaFLO, for next-gen. multimedia broadcast platform to start in 2012 http://bit.ly/blp0Em
DoCoMo team picked for multimedia broadcast
The communications ministry has chosen a group led by NTT DoCoMo Inc. to build infrastructure for a multimedia broadcasting service for mobile devices set to start in spring 2012. The new broadcast service can distribute a large volume of digital data, such as movies, e-books, games, music and live news reports, to cellphones, tablet computers and other handheld devices.
The selection of the DoCoMo-led group, which uses domestic standards, over a rival group using U.S. standards was announced Wednesday by the ministry’s Radio Regulatory Council. Besides DoCoMo, Multimedia Broadcasting Inc. has nine members, including TV Asahi Corp., Fuji Television Network, Dentsu Inc. and Itochu Corp.
Council Chairman Hiroshi Harashima, a professor emeritus of information engineering at the University of Tokyo, said the DoCoMo group was favored for its cost advantages. Multimedia Broadcasting estimated the total investment in facilities at 43.8 billion yen ($520 million), less than half of MediaFLO Japan’s 96.1 billion yen.