Satellite service provider SES Americom has joined the Mobile DTV Alliance (MDTVA) board of directors. SES Americom provided services for the broadcast TV mobile DTV demonstrations at NAB this year. SES joined MDTVA to help drive the growth of the mobile DTV market.
Its first engagement as a member and director was the MDTVA Member Meeting in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 26. The meeting included members of the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) and the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), and was timed to coincide with the ATSC TSG meetings.
"We are building relationships with like-minded mobile digital TV advocates so we can drive and promote mobile TV together through adoption of multiple bearer technologies and a common service layer," said Walt Tamminen, MDTVA president. "SES Americom strengthens our forces as they represent the needs and knowledge base of the leading satellite operator in North America and Europe, as well as global satellite coverage and connectivity."
MDTVA originally supported only the DVB-H standard, but has expanded this to include the upcoming ATSC M/H (mobile/handheld) standard and DVB satellite/handheld standards.
"SES Americom sees a pivotal role for our satellite services in the distribution of national content and efficient mobile platform management, as well as for single frequency networks," said Bryan A. McGuirk, president of North American Satellite Services. "We have joined the MDTVA to help programmers, broadcasters and technology solution providers in creating the U.S. mobile/handheld broadcast TV ecosystem."
MDTVA publishes the North American Mobile TV Implementation Guidelines and acts as the primary collaboration forum between companies interested in mobile DTV deployment, implementation and testing.
