Shanghai. July 3. INTERFAX-CHINA - CMMB (China Mobile Multimedia Broadcasting) receiver chip maker Innofidei Inc. is applying to join the TD-SCDMA Industry Alliance (TDIA), an Innofidei official said July 2.
"We are preparing the application paperwork. We are responding to the government's call for cooperation between CMMB and TD-SCDMA by joining the TDIA. We will work with mobile phone manufacturers to integrate CMMB receiver chips into TD-SCDMA mobile phones," Che Lingfang, Innofidei's public relations manager, told Interfax.
CMMB is a digital mobile TV broadcasting standard advocated by China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT). SARFT is deploying CMMB networks in more than 30 cities in China, with the aim of broadcasting Beijing Olympic Games coverage to mobile devices. TD-SCDMA is China's homegrown 3G standard and has been put into commercial trials by China Mobile Communications Corp.
"CMMB receiver chips can be integrated into both 2G and 3G mobile phones to enable digital mobile TV functions," Che said.
ZTE Corp., Lenovo Mobile, Motorola Inc. and Samsung Group have all developed CMMB-enabled 2G mobile phones using Innofidei's chip. No manufacturer has yet developed a CMMB-enabled TD-SCDMA mobile phone though, Che said.
While TD-MBMS, a mobile multimedia solution based on TD-SCDMA networks, also enables mobile TV functionality, Che said that CMMB and TD-MBMS technologies are likely to complement each other.
"CMMB will probably be used by consumers to receive popular and free TV channels and TD-MBMS is likely to be used for video-on-demand services," she said, adding that CMMB is ahead of TD-MBMS in terms of commercialization.
Minister Li Yizhong, of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), reportedly called for cooperation between CMMB and TD-SCDMA at a meeting on June 24.
Sun Zhaohui, deputy director of SARFT's Wireless Bureau, also told Interfax this week that "we have a strategic cooperative agreement with wireless operators, and CMMB chipsets will be integrated into TD-SCDMA handsets."
Manufacturers that provide commercial TD-SCDMA handsets include ZTE, Lenovo, Samsung, LG Electronics and New Postcom Equipment Co. Ltd.
