Crown Castle Orders Thales' DVB-H Transmitter Systems for Mobile TV Deployment

Crown Castle Mobile Media has placed orders with Thales for multiple Affinity DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld) transmitter systems. Crown Castle will use these transmitter systems in their initial deployments.

At NAB 2005, Thales introduced its Mobile TV global solution based on leading edge and already widely adopted systems including:

SmartVision Mobility Video Service platform providing Mobile TV services management , content delivery, Electronic Service Guide and Digital Rights Management

SmartCast Mobility Video Headend platform comprising low bit rate encoding, IP Encapsulation, DTV Multiplexing and DVB-H transmission to any DVB-H compliant portable terminal. Broadcasting Platforms [Affinity/Optimum/Ultimate] are used for RF delivery in various frequency bands and power levels.

Crown Castle Mobile Media’s order is based on Thales’ Affinity series of transmitters with built-in Thales DVB-H modulator technology. Affinity is a versatile platform that supports multiple markets and frequency ranges including UHF, L-Band, and S-Band. Affinity is a field proven design, with transmitters deployed in DVB-T, ATSC broadcast platforms, multi-channel video programming, broadband Internet access, gap filler applications, and now Mobile TV solutions.

"A combination of Thales’ history of providing high-performance competitive products, along with their technological commitment in offering integrated solutions for our DVB-H deployment, backed by their extensive worldwide experience in digital and multimedia broadcasting, led us to choose Thales as a partner," said Michael Schueppert, President of Crown Castle Mobile Media.

"We feel privileged to work with Crown Castle on their roll-out of the DVB-H Mobile TV network." said Richard Fiore Jr., Senior VP Sales and Marketing of Thales Broadcast & Multimedia. "We initially shipped demo units of our L-Band Affinity product in January 2004 to Crown Castle for their Pittsburgh trial. We are pleased with the initial success and experience gained and with the evolution of the relationship between our two companies. We look forward to this next stage of the project and completing our work successfully for Crown Castle."