This system is central to Alcatel's Unlimited Mobile TV solution. The technical trial in Toulouse, focused on the space aspects of this project, is preliminary to the research and development efforts for the terrestrial aspects of the project, made possible with support from the French Industrial Innovation Agency.

The CNES financed and oversaw the design and deployment of the demonstrator, set the trial schedule, and is leading the trial; Orange, the leader in mobile broadcasting, is providing terrestrial repeater sites and contributing its expertise for analyzing results; Alcatel is conducting all trial measurements and preparing the result analysis; in addition, Eutelsat and SES Astra are supplying the satellite resources needed for feeding terrestrial repeaters.

The trial initially was scheduled to run through September. Based on initial results, however, the companies have decided to extend it through the end of the year. As part of this extended trial period, Eutelsat will partner with the other three organizations to pursue the validation of the technical choices of the hybrid satellite and terrestrial broadcasting system to provide S-band services.

"The Mobile Television Forum recently declared its support for the adoption of standards which are widely approved in Europe and which guarantee interoperability, such as the DVB-H standard and its evolution in the S-band," said Janine Langlois-Glandier, president of the Mobile Television Forum.

"We are pleased that a trial using the S-band solution will be conducted in Toulouse by CNES with Orange France and Alcatel, because we believe that this solution will assure consistency that will be beneficial for France and Europe as a whole," Langlois-Glandier said.

The trial is part of permanent ongoing projects being conducted by CNES on space applications for the consumer market, and part of continuing preparatory work being conducted jointly by CNES and Alcatel on architectural concepts and the feasibility of a variety of technical alternatives for a hybrid satellite and terrestrial system for mobile broadcasting.

The trial is designed to provide a technical assessment, to supplement ongoing laboratory work, of certain key parameters of hybrid satellite and terrestrial S-band broadcasting, such as the impact of wave form on transmission quality, link budget, antenna diversity, error-correcting codes, and frequency sharing for satellite and terrestrial elements of the solution.

The demonstrator includes all elements of the proposed solution. The satellite is simulated using an S-band transmitter on board a helicopter at high altitude. The system is completed by terrestrial repeaters installed in ten or so locations belonging to Orange France, the mobile telecommunications operator, alongside its GSM and UMTS service transmitters. Last, a test terminal and instruments on board a vehicle are used to measure and record the signal in real time.

The demonstrator covers southeastern Toulouse and the suburbs, from downtown to Castanet Tolosan and St Orens, including the Canal Technology Park and Rangueil. The tests also will be conducted outside of Toulouse and its suburbs, in order to evaluate reception conditions in population centers of variable size, simulating complete coverage within mainland France.

The goal of the Unlimited Mobile TV project is to make television available on mobile phones throughout rural and urban areas, including indoors, with a wide range of programming options and excellent image quality, regardless of the number of viewers simultaneously watching the same program. The universal coverage is possible thanks to the unique combination of country-wide satellite coverage and terrestrial mobile networks for dense city coverage and interactivity.

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