Many said it simply would not work. There was too much technical complexity and too many challenges with the quality of reception. Yet in September at the 2006 IBC Conference in Amsterdam, Netherlands, UDCast plans to announce that it has created a low-cost, revenue-generating satellite distribution system that will allow differentiated mobile TV content to be delivered to thousands of broadcast towers nationwide.

“I think we at UDCast have an advantage in that we know both mobile TV and satellite, so this way we are able to find a solution and deploy the solution that brings the best of both worlds to the end users,” said Filip Gluszak, vice president of marketing for UDCast.

Considering the small size of mobile phone antennas, stable coverage of mobile TV service to all mobile phones would require thousands of transmitters in every country — up to 10,000 in the U.S., Gluszak said. This means a hefty cost for operators trying to build digital video broadcasting-hand-held networks. To alleviate this cost and the complexity of the terrestrial system, UDCast is turning to satellite, combining digital television systems with satellite television distribution.

“This system will allow the mobile operators and broadcasters to reduce the cost of the network by up to 40%,” Gluszak said. “It will also allow them to speed up the deployment of those networks because you don't have to build all of those terrestrial links.”

With UDCast's satellite distribution system, satellite transmissions will be divided so that the largest portion of it will be homogenous — carrying national channels such as ESPN, ABC and NBC — while a smaller portion is reserved for channels differentiated by their market. All the stations will be managed from one central device.

“The solution also brings up the unique point of central management,” Gluszak said. “No matter how big the network is, you can control the whole network with all types of content and broadcasting criteria, thanks to a device we call IP e-manager, which can manage hundreds or even thousands of the IP encapsulators in all areas of the country.”

As part of its addressable network, broadcasters will be able to direct advertising to a specific audience and region. Advertising revenues are becoming stagnant because of digital recording devices and the Internet, Gluszak said, and the value of advertising is in danger of being diminished. UDCast's satellite distribution system could be its saving grace.

“Today, when you have some advertising commercials on traditional TV, 95% of viewers have nothing to do with this commercial so 95% of the value is simply lost,” Gluszak said. “This trend will mean that the broadcasters and TV stations will need to adapt and offer advertising that can be addressable Depending on the profile of the user or the location where those viewers are placed, advertising will be adapted.”