Four leading operators which together represent more than 200 million mobile subscribers - Verizon, Telstra, kt and EE have joined hands to form the LTE-Broadcast Alliance to push for global support for LTE-Broadcast (LTE-B) services from all device makers.
LTE-B, also known as evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (eMBMS), enables a mobile operator to send a single stream of data to all mobile users in one area, as opposed to sending an individual stream to each user. Video is the main driver for traffic increases in mobile networks, and LTE-B can ensure a great customer experience, even in the areas of highest demand.
As well as supporting peak-time customer video consumption, LTE-B has the potential to be a vehicle for push notifications, such as over-the-air device updates, to become a service platform for IoT connectivity, communicating to billions of devices at the same time and other usages.
In the U.S., Verizon is leading the way with commercially deployed LTE-B service across its nationwide 4G LTE network. In the UK, EE trialled LTE-B at the 2015 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, in partnership with the BBC, allowing HD broadcast of multiple camera angles and replays to mobile devices in the stadium. In Australia, Telstra undertook the world's first stadium broadcast using LTE-B in January 2014. In South Korea, kt became the first operator in the world to launch a commercial LTE-B service in January 2014. The kt service covers seven baseball stadiums and major subway lines of Seoul and Busan.
Parissa Pandkhou, Director of Product Development at Verizon
Since 2012, Verizon has been dedicated to LTE-B, and in 2015 achieved commercial availability across our entire 4G LTE network. The LTE-B Alliance will help establish and expand the benefits of the service to other technology segments, increase device penetration, and unearth even more use cases for eMBMS.
Matt Stagg, Head of Video Strategy at EE
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.
