EE UK Builds Alliance to Develop 5G and 4G LTE Broadcast Data Tech

Mobile giant EE (BT) has formed a new alliance with several other operators, including Verizon (USA), Telstra (Australia) and kt (South Korea), in order to facilitate the development of LTE-Broadcast (LTE-B) technology that enables operators to send a single stream of data to all mobile users in one area.

Broadcast technologies, such as LTE-B, would be an ideal solution to help mobile operators fully enter the video or TV streaming market (especially when streaming live events), not least because this type of content delivery system is much more efficient for the operator’s network than sending an individual stream to each user.

In fact EE and the BBC recently trialled LTE-B at the 2015 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, which allowed an HD broadcast of multiple camera angles and replays to mobile devices in the stadium. Mind you, if you’re watching a live event in person then your phone will often stay firmly attached to your pocket.

However LTE-B, which is also known as a Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (eMBMS), could help with over-the-air device updates, customer weather warnings, critical communications for public safety, enterprise group communication, marketing (hurray.. more spam), digital signage, IoT (Internet of Things) connectivity and so forth.

Matt Stagg, Head of Video Strategy at EE, said:

“Initially we focused our LTE-B efforts on the benefits for live and linear video, and we will launch a live service in 2017. Now, as part of the LTE-B Alliance, we’ll be focused on developing use cases for critical communications services, Internet of Things, and a 5G future. The Alliance will provide awareness of the importance of this technology, and ensure that the benefits can be realised as soon as possible.”

The LTE-B Alliance now wants other mobile operators, device manufacturers and chipset makers to join up and help form the technology’s future. Mind you mobile operators have tried other broadcast style video technologies before, albeit with mixed success.

Modern connectivity is of course much better than it once was and LTE-B opens up an interesting new array of service options, but it’s too early to know if operators will be able to deliver something that is truly compelling.