AT&T to launch mobile TV service

BY GREG EDWARDS
MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE
Published: May 1, 2008

AT&T Inc. will launch a mobile television service Sunday in 58 other U.S. metropolitan markets.

Subscribers to AT&T’s wireless broadband service can pay as little as $15 extra a month and watch all the “SpongeBob SquarePants” and CNN election coverage they can handle right on their cell phones.

AT&T is offering mobile television by partnering with MediaFLO USA Inc., a Qualcomm Inc. subsidiary. The only other wireless company offering the company’s service, according to MediaFLO’s Web site, is Verizon Wireless, which offers mobile television to its V Cast customers.

The technology does not use a wireless company’s broadband network nor a subscriber’s broadband air minutes. That’s because the programming is carried over a separate one-way ultra-high frequency signal to what is essentially a tiny TV receiver built into wireless phones designed to receive the service.

AT&T’s $15 package includes unlimited mobile television access and access to a concert channel for a limited time. A $30 package is offered that includes additional video services.

CBS Mobile, Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile, Fox Mobile, MTV and Nickelodeon are among the 10 channels included in the basic service. One channel exclusive to AT&T is Sony Pix, which carries a variety of movies.

Jason Bellone, an AT&T product manager in Henrico County, Va., recently demonstrated the television service in a downtown Richmond office building. The color picture was bright, sharp and without stuttering or interference.

While standard voice traffic continues to dominate AT&T’s wireless network, data traffic and revenue are growing at double-digit rates, Bellone said. Last year, for example, 90 billion text messages were sent over the network. In the first three months this year, 44 billion were sent, including 620 messages with pictures or video, he said.

AT&T is offering two new wireless phones designed to work with the television service, the LG Vu and the Samsung Access. The Vu has a touch screen, and both phones have large displays and a variety of other features, such as built-in cameras and music players.

John Johnson, a Verizon Wireless spokesman, said his company has been providing mobile television service for more than a year. The feedback it gets from customers who want to stay in touch with TV news or the latest game scores has been positive, he said.

Bellone said competition among wireless carriers continues to be fierce. That’s good for consumers but also good for the companies, he said.

“It forces you not to want to become a stagnant business,“ he said.

Contact Greg Edwards at (804) 649-6390 or .