LTE Broadcast features prominently at Mobile World Congress 2015

Although the meeting was by invitation only, those present wanted the world to know it was the first one held by the newly-created LTE Broadcast User Group, which aims to act as a forum for exchanging experiences and best practices on setting up and operating LTE Broadcast services. The group wants to promote the use of LTE Broadcast and boost the development of an ecosystem around the service.

At the meeting, equipment manufacturer Ericsson shared experiences with organisations including Facebook, the Global mobile Suppliers Association, the GSMA, Indycar, Intel, KPN, Qualcomm, Telstra and Verizon. Significantly, Facebook representatives gave a presentation explaining how LTE Broadcast could help deliver app updates more efficiently to billions of devices worldwide.

Software and app updates were highlighted as one of the key use cases for LTE Broadcast in PolicyTracker’s recent report on the technology. Another promising area is mobile video delivery at key venues and major events (“venue casting”), which will be the focus for Australia’s Telstra when it deploys Ericsson’s LTE Broadcast system on what it calls its “4GX” network this year. In the UK, EE plans to start testing LTE Broadcast at London’s Wembley stadium in June.

Elsewhere at MWC, Ericsson showcased a number of LTE Broadcast live demos, while Expway and Huawei announced they had successfully concluded interoperability tests between the former’s LTE Broadcast middleware and the latter’s packet core network.

And in the US, online video specialist Quickplay this week confirmed plans to integrate LTE Broadcast capabilities into its managed video platform. The solution will enable mobile operators using Qualcomm’s LTE Broadcast system to deliver video with a larger variety of viewing experiences. The company has also just agreed to acquire mobile video optimisation firm Roundbox.

“LTE Broadcast is potentially a game changer for the industry,” the Global mobile Suppliers’ Association (GSA) VP of Research Alan Hadden said recently. Judging by the number of announcements this week promoting the technology, many others clearly feel the same way.