The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) this month approved the Forward Link Only (FLO) Media Adaptation Layer Specification, a move that will ease operators’ ability to offer real-time video and IP datacasting services on their FLO-based mobile TV networks.
The specification sets out separate protocols for the adaptation and delivery of real-time audio/video, non-real-time and IP datacast services within the FLO mobile multimedia broadcast protocol stack. Operators of FLO-based mobile TV networks can use it to offer subscribers a wider choice of content and services from multiple providers in the future, including real-time services, such as live news and sports coverage; non real-time services, such as “clipcast” video and audio delivered in the background and watched on demand or out of coverage; and localized IP datacast information services, such as sports scores, traffic updates or stock trackers, which have the potential to replace bulk SMS alerts in the long-term.
Following a review by the TIA TR47.1 Engineering Committee, the specification will be published as TIA-1130.
For more information, visit www.floforum.org.
