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Alcatel, Telstra to Launch Mobile TV Testing Center in Australia

By Raju Shanbhag, TMCnet Contributing Editor

To offer best-in-class handset validation and porting, Telstra (News - Alert) Corporation announced today that it’s joining Alcatel-Lucent to open a mobile TV handset testing service center in Melbourne, Australia.

 

Developed to support Telstra’s Mobile FOXTEL TV service, the facility is designed ensure that Alcatel-Lucent’s (News - Alert) MiTV application and the Mobile FOXTEL service are compatible with the handsets that Telstra offers to its customers, according to the company.

 

The facility will test up to 100 UMTS 3G-enabled handset models a year and is considered to be an important aspect in ensuring the reliability and availability of new applications, company officials say.

 

Models from the all the major manufacturers will be able to ensure their compatibility and suitability for the network and the anticipated applications and services to be offered, company officials say. The testing will support Alcatel-Lucent’s MiTV application and Mobile FOXTEL service on the handsets being offered by Telstra, as it contains Streamezzo (News - Alert), which supplies a rich media client software application, they say.

 

With the introduction of this local center service, Telstra will have the flexibility to handle peak handset introduction periods in a much more cost effective way. Also, the dedicated team will provide a significant additional reduction in time to market as it will have the capacity to expedite fault resolution. The center also plans to provide testing service for other mobile service providers in the Asia-Pacific region in the future, according to the company.

 

Alcatel officials say they believe that the center is in important step for the company in bringing mobile TV-ready handsets to market quickly. The company says that when the new center is operational, the delivery time of the products will be reduced from three months to a mere 15 days.

 

With the opening of this center, Alcatel-Lucent is seeking to lead the terminal introduction process by putting together a dedicated local services team. This step to introduce the service in Australia demonstrates Telstra’s and Alcatel-Lucent’s commitment to growing Australia’s digital future, according to the company.

 

“Alcatel-Lucent recognizes that the key to building a sustainable mobile service in Australia is the ability to support Telstra’s unique and specific handset requirements,” said Andrew Butterworth, vice president of Alcatel-Lucent Australasian Services Business Group. “To this end, our mobile TV handset testing process is designed to handle Telstra’s specific end-to-end mobile service requirements.”

 

Raju Shanbhag is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Raju’s articles, please visit his columnist page.

 

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Internet Protocol (IP)	X
IP stands for Internet Protocol, a data-networking protocol developed throughout the 1980s. It is the established standard protocol for transmitting and receiving data in packets over the Internet. I...more

Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)	X
The following is an introduction (not an indepth analysis) of UMTS. UMTS uses WCDMA with DSSS with TDD and FDD. WCDMA is one of the 3G wireless technologies. 1G-Analog - being phased out/discontinue...more