abertis telecom

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Abertis Telecom deploys 7 mobile TV networks at the "Mobile World Congress 2009"

 Barcelona hosts the first mobile TV tests with DVB-SH technology, run by abertis telecom.Together with 16 companies and organisations from 8 European countries, abertis telecom will introduce the CHORIST project. This will speed up, at moments of maximum alert, the sending of information to the general public through various technological supports.

Barcelona, February 24th, 2009

At the Mobile World Congress 2009, which will be held in Barcelona between February 16 and 19, abertis telecom, the telecommunications infrastructure operator of the abertis group, will provide and manage the infrastructure of the relay and broadcasting network of mobile TV for the receipt of television signals and interactive services at mobile terminals.

Fira de Barcelona hosts for the fourth year running the Mobile World Congress, the main event bringing together international companies and organisations that are at the forefront of the development of mobile communications.

At this meeting demonstrations will be run and conferences given on mobile TV services. In addition, the main companies in the audiovisual and telecommunications sector present their latest advances and technology at this market-place.

Since this event was first held, in 2006, abertis telecom has been the Official Supplier of mobile TV networks, contributing and managing networks based on the various kinds of technology available, which allows participants to see its versatility in practice and examine the uses and contents developed for mobile supports. 

First demonstrations of mobile TV with DVB-SH technology

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abertis telecom is deploying for this year’s Mobile World Congress seven networks to provide coverage for the mobile TV service demonstrations, in the various existing standards:

 DVB-H: Digital Video Broadcasting Handheld

DVB-SH:  Digital Video Broadcasting Satellite Handheld

MediaFLO: Media Forward Link Only

On this occasion, and unlike previous years, the use of DVB-SH technology will allow us to make the first live demonstrations of mobile TV on S band in the city of Barcelona.

The infrastructure deployed by abertis telecom includes its relay and broadcasting facilities at the Collserola Tower, the capacity of the Hispasat and Eutelsat satellite systems, as well as several transmitters set up in the city and at the Fira de Barcelona site, where the event is being held, that will complete coverage for transmitting both inside and outside the Congress Halls.

abertis telecom will relay through these networks the programming of dozens of radio and television channels from the main Spanish and international broadcasting companies and the Media Partners of the GSM Association, as well as the CNBC TV channel and the transmission of the Congress channel, Mobile World TV, being produced during the event itself. 

abertis telecom at the MWC 2009

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As well as its technical participation as network supplier, abertis telecom is present at this year’s Mobile World Congress at the Hall of Spain (Hall 3, CY11) and has installed a Technical Room in Hall 7, where the equipment and advanced platforms necessary for the demonstrations are found.

Following the line adopted in previous years of working with the industry, abertis telecom has coordinated and assisted in the integration of various systems of conditional access and several interactive service systems on some of the mobile television platforms deployed.

Thanks to this integration, at the congress it will be possible to view the SCP, DRM and OSF conditional access systems, along with various of their applications.

To integrate the various interactive systems, abertis telecom has worked with a number of technology suppliers, such as the company Activa Multimedia and the Finnish Sofia Digital.

All these new services, standards and systems form part of the demonstrations that will be given at the abertis telecom stand. In addition, the company will collaborate with the various manufacturers in inter-operability trials with the teams present at Fira de Barcelona, making available its technical room.

The companies Hispasat, Eutelsat, Athenas, Telelux, Tredess, Albalá, PTV, Egatel, Mier and DMT have worked jointly with abertis telecom in the deployment.   

CHORIST project

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The CHORIST (Integrating communications for enhanced environmental risk management and citizens safety) project will be presented in the context of the Mobile World Congress and the results of the first trials being run will be reported.

Among CHORIST’s aims is the sending out of alert messages by organisations involved in emergency management to the greatest number of people in the shortest possible time. To achieve this, the main supports common to the general public are used, such as digital television (DTT), mobile phones (Cell Broadcast), radio and others. During the MWC there will be demonstrations on how this technology can be employed to alert the general public, by means of a common interface that is visual and easy to operate.

Alongside abertis telecom, a total of 16 companies and organisations from eight European countries take part in CHORIST. The project, financed by the European Community within the 6^th R+D Framework Programme, which ends this coming May, lays down the conceptual and technological bases for facilitating the coordination of the various emergency bodies internationally. As these bodies will be managing the same data, they can deploy their resources in a coordinated way through communication networks with differing technology (TETRA, Wimax). This system also transmits the same alert message to the general public in cases of maximum alert. 

About abertis telecom

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abertis telecom is one of Europe’s main operators of telecommunications infrastructure and services. It possesses the biggest network of locations (over 3,200) in Spain for the broadcasting and relay of audiovisual signals. It is part of abertis, international group in mobility and telecommunications infrastructure management.

abertis telecom is actively promoting the development of mobile television, leading projects with a high international profile and assisting in the validation of DVB-H and DVB-SH technology through WingTV (Wireless, Integrated, Nomadic, GPRS-UMTS&TV, handheld terminals) and B21C (Broadcast for the 21^st Century). It is also working on the Spanish project to develop digital television, FURIA (Futura Red Integrada Audiovisual).

Alongside countries that are more advanced in the European audiovisual industry, such as Finland, Germany, the United Kingdom and France, Spain is one of the pioneers in the pre-commercial launch of DTT on mobile terminals.