Digital Multimedia Broadcast channel U1 Media signs up Kamera™ entertainment news service WOW! TV

Mobile TV provider Kamera has signed a content deal with South Korean Wireless broadcaster U1 Media, which sees Kamera delivering its entertainment news service WOW! TV to the newly-launched channel.

This marks Kamera’s first deal with a Digital Multimedia Broadcast (DMB) channel and demonstrates its commitment to the fast-growing Asian market.

Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) is a technology allowing people to consume rich media not only in their mobile phones, but also in DMB-equipped devices such as notebook PCs, TVs, in-car equipment and other consumer electronics being rolled out in Korea.

“We are very excited about this deal with U1 Media, which is Kamera’s first with a DMB broadcaster,” commented Henrik Eklund, CEO of Kamera. “WOW! TV delivers a wealth of international stories from the glamorous world of music, movies and fashion, as well as providing the latest celebrity gossip. We have now licensed the service to over 20 operators and we are confident that it will be a major hit for U1 Media.”

Terrestrial DMB commenced in Korea in December 2005 and U1 Media is one of the six DMB service providers which launched a channel. Out of their 24 daily hours of programming, more than 50 per cent will focus on entertainment.

“U1 Media is the most active player among the 6 T-DMB broadcasters in Korea now. Since young and educated, early-adopters and trend leaders are among our major target audiences, Kamera’s content is very attractive to our viewers. Such content not only adds more colour and flavour to our program line-ups, but also creates an ubiquitous environment for our viewers”, explained Soon-Yong Cho, president and CEO of U1 Media.

Over the last 12 months, Kamera has signed 20 mobile distribution deals for its dedicated entertainment service, which has proved a major hit amongst users. WOW! TV is now available in a host of territories including Sweden, Denmark, The Baltics, Austria, South Africa, Brazil and Singapore.

During the Intertelekom Trade Fair in LГіdz, Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa presented its technological readiness to introduce HSDPA standards in its UMTS network.

By presenting the HSDPA technology in a ready-to-implement version, PTC has again confirmed its leading position on the Polish market of wireless data transmission. It is worth stressing that in 2001 PTC was the first mobile operator in Poland to present voice transmission in a UMTS network, in 2002 – вЂ?videophony’ based on the 3G technology, and in 2004 – a comprehensive solution for the integration of multimedia.

PTC declares that the fast progress in broadband communications is its priority, and both the range and transmission speed are the key words in the strategy to be implemented by the company in 2006. PTC has been systematically extending its network infrastructure so as to provide its customers with all the advantages of the wireless broadband technology – anytime and anywhere.

One of the elements inherent in the strategy of PTC in this field is the technology of HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access). HSDPA allows the speeding up of data transmission in the 3G networks (UMTS) initially to 1.8 Mbit/s and eventually even up to 14.4 Mbit/s.

PTC is technically ready to adjust its UMTS network to speeds corresponding to HSDPA standards. This year, UMTS based on the HSDPA technology will ensure the highest speed of wireless data transmission, starting from 1.8 Mbit/s. Thanks to this, PTC customers will obtain faster wireless access to the Internet from a laptop computer or a PC at home or in the office.

The HSDPA technology will be introduced within the framework of the Blue Connect service in 2006. In the very near future PTC is also planning to launch voice services in its UMTS network.

Blue Connect is one of the strategic and most popular services offered by PTC. Only ten months after its market launch, over 30,000 customers are now using this service. Since November 2005, Blue Connect data transmission cards have been offered in the �HSDPA-ready’ version, and all the previous versions of the BC cards will gradually be replaced.

Currently, PTC’s UMTS is commercially available in Warsaw and several dozen nearby towns (i.a. Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, Ozarów Mazowiecki, Piastów, Pruszków, Blonie, Brwinów, Milanówek, Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Podkowa Lesna, Piaseczno, Konstancin-Jeziorna, Józefów, Otwock, Góra Kalwaria, Sulejówek, Wolomin, Radzymin, Serock, Legionowo, Marki and Kobylka), in Lódz and its surrandings (Zgierz i Pabianice), Poznan, Wroclaw and in the winter-sports resorts of Zakopane and Szczyrk. Technical tests have been finalised and soon the launch of the UMTS network in other urban centres, such as Kraków, Gdansk and Silesia, will be announced. Torun, Bydgoszcz and Lublin are waiting for the start of the UTMS network at a later time this year.

By the end of 2006, i.e., by the end of the completion of the first stage of the UMTS network build-up, over 8 million people will be within the range of PTC’s UMTS signal. It means that the company will have fulfilled its licence obligations to provide UMTS services to at least 20% of the Polish population.

The UMTS infrastructure is supplied to PTC by Ericsson and Siemens. What should be emphasized is the fast pace of the construction of PTC’s 3G network: contracts with both suppliers were signed only in October last year. From the very beginning, the UMTS network built for PTC by Siemens and Ericsson was developed, designed and installed as ready for the HSDPA system.

The highest quality of wireless data transmission offered by PTC to its customers is not based solely on the UMTS technology. PTC has provided high speed data transmission also in areas which are not yet serviced by the UMTS network. By implementing the EDGE technology, PTC has improved the parameters of the GPRS fast packet data transmission, thanks to which transmission speeds are four times higher than those provided by ISDN.

Another part of the infrastructure used in the Blue Connect offer is the W-LAN technology. PTC provides its customers with an extensive network of Hot-Spot access points situated in attractive locations throughout the country.

KDDI and Okinawa Cellular are pleased to announce the world’s first real cellular phone 3D navigation service. “3D Navi”, the new service which displays intersections and landmarks in three-dimensional images, is produced by KDDI in association with NAVITIME JAPAN CO.,LTD. for the pedestrian “EZ Navi Walk”, and will be available from later April this year.

Following the “EZ Navi Walk” voice guide on the way to one’s destination, pedestrians will pass through various intersections or locations, and at each, “3D Navi” displays images of the surrounding scenery, such as buildings and landmarks. As real maps in three dimensions are displayed, users can enjoy a more comprehensible service, particularly at complex intersections or locations, which are not easily understood with a standard map alone.

ZENRIN CO., LTD. and GEO Technical Laboratory Co., Ltd. provide the data used in “3D Navi’s” 3D map images.