Hiwire preps for Vegas launch

Hiwire, the 700 MHz spectrum mobile broadcast TV service using the DVB-H standard, is gearing up for its Las Vegas market launch. The launch, which will occur by the end of the quarter, will be held in conjunction with T-Mobile USA. In an interview yesterday at the National Association of Broadcasters conference in Las Vegas, Scott Wills, president and COO of Hiwire, said the company is currently integrating the T-Mobile functionality into the LG handset it will be using for the launch. However, that doesn't mean that T-Mobile has committed to Hiwire for commercial deployment.

"T-Mobile will just be testing the service," Wills said. Hiwire is, of course, touting the fact that its service will be able to provide 24 channels of programming, more than any other mobile broadcast service in the U.S.--a distinction Wills believes will be a big differentiator for the service and for wireless operators that select Hiwire's DVB-H system. But Hiwire isn't just planning to work with wireless operators. Wills says the company is talking to cable operators and he believes Hiwire's service will be very appealing to cable operators that want to their service to be mobile. - Sue

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