FLO Forum ratifies mobile multimedia spec

The association created by Qualcomm to standardize its proprietary forward link only (FLO) mobile TV technology has released its first technical specification for the platform's air interface.

The spec sets out the specific protocols governing the RF link between a FLO broadcast network a FLO device. With a specification in place, transmitter manufacturers and handset-makers can now design interoperable equipment, the first step toward creating an industry standard.

Based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), FLO is designed as a multicast alternative to a carrier's current unicast streaming video and audio services. Instead of dedicating an entire swathe of capacity to one user's streaming connection over a 3G network, FLO broadcasts the same streaming channels to multiple users, much like a broadcast TV network. The technology, however, competes with another multicast multimedia standard called digital broadcast video-handheld (DVB-H), backed by much of the GSM community.

Unlike FLO, DVB-H evolved out of the current digital TV standards and was created by a consortium of technology vendors, not from a single vendor. Those differences have led to accusations that the FLO Forum is only providing the veneer of standardization for Qualcomm's proprietary intellectual property. So far the FLO forum's membership has reflected many of the Chinese and Korean vendors who have backed Qualcomm's CDMA technology. Most of the major GSM vendors have thrown their support behind DVB-H.