Mobile TV in Africa: Alcatel-Lucent's solution

Alcatel-Lucent is one of the main global providers of mobile TV and IPTV solutions to broadcasters and telecoms operators in Africa and elsewhere.

The company designs, deploys and operates a flexible and cost-effective mobile TV solution adapted to its clients' environment.

Balancing-Act Africa associate editor, Sylvain Béletre, interviewed Vincent Moreau at Alcatel-Lucent to find out more about the group's mobile TV activities on the African continent.

Q: How many offices to do have in Africa? In which countries and how many employees?
A: ALU Middle-east and Africa brings together 68 countries. We employ approximately 4000 people in the Middle East and Africa region both headquartered in Cairo, Egypt. This is where we Host Alcatel-Lucent International Services Centre and serving the world; Alcatel-Lucent University in Egypt provides training and learning services to Alcatel-Lucent customers and employees across the region; we have a strong local presence in almost all the countries of the region and we undertake many initiatives to reduce the digital divide and build more inclusive information communities with numerous corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Q: What is your role at Alcatel-Lucent?
A: I am the mobile multimedia director at Alcatel-Lucent Services Group. That includes the Mobile TV solution.

Q: When did you start providing Mobile TV solutions?
A: Our Mobile TV solution has been available on the market for several years. We are now releasing two major evolutions of this solution: "Smartphone TV", designed and tailored for smartphones users, and a multiscreen solution that expands any IPTV solution to mobile devices, allowing end-users to remotely program their home TV, or get any content anywhere.

Q: How many TV users do you support globally?
A: We are the leader in IPTV with more than 60 references and six million users.

Q: Have you provided any Mobile TV solutions in Africa?
A: Yes, we have recently delivered a MiTV solution to a major tier one operator. In the past, we have also delivered video streaming solutions for several African providers. We are a long-term committed market leader in Africa.

Q: How long does it take to implement such a solution?
A: Standard deployment takes three months, but could be expanded to develop any bespoke customer request.

Q: In practical terms, what are the implementation phases?
A: Key implementation phases include:
1 - defining the specifications, the business model and perimeters. That takes into account the expected number of active subscribers, the number of streaming sessions and the channel number; there are three types of channels: live TV, near-live (i.e. sport), and playlists. By allowing flexible reformatting of different types of content for mobile handsets, as well as the creation of play list-style programming, our solution addresses the needs of both content providers and broadcasters. As optional, we can include VOD on top of live TV programs. Our Mobile TV allows clients to blend live programs and on-demand content, seamlessly to consumers. Clients can then freely and cost-effectively create, shape, format, and distribute video content.
2 - This phase identifies the best interface to use on mobile phones. That could be enhanced with custom packages such as what we call "rich media client" and extra interactivity. We can work with clients to provide specific skins for the mobile TV interface.
3 - Once the above are set, we get into the procurement phase. Our global delivery team ships the equipment to our local office where our engineers install the platform and the interface.
4 - We then undertake acceptance and train the client's staff on how to control the solution.
5 - Lastly, we check that everything is in order by sending a special quality experts' team on-site whose job is to optimise the video quality.
6 - We sometimes help launch the service if the client requires it. We now have a good experience of launching mobile TVs around the world and have learnt our lessons. We have experts who usually work together with the client's marcom departments to avoid any typical mistake and make sure the launch runs smoothly and leads to success. We can accelerate time to market and maximise return on investment (RoI).

Q: What type of software and equipment is required to set up a mobile TV solution?
A: The equipment includes application servers, streamers, encoders, and software clients for devices.

Q: Would you be able to provide a price range for acquiring this solution?
A: We have a very successful "compact offer" which delivers a high quality solution with standard services, at a very compelling price.

Q: Who are your mobile TV clients?.
A: Approximately 80% of our mobile TV clients are telecoms operators, but we also assist broadcasters and content providers on a smaller scale.

Q: What is your business model for mobile TV? What is the right ecosystem to make it viable?
A: The business model varies according to the criteria I have mentioned earlier. We have the right tools to set up scenarios and identify financial returns. In some countries, you can start see a quick RoI above 50,000 to 100,0000 subscribers. The minimum number of subscribers also varies depending on ARPU and the country's economic outlook.

Q: Which African countries and SPs' do you consider as having real potential for mobile TV?
A: South Africa, Senegal, Egypt, Maroco, Tunisia, Algeria, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana among others. Any African service provider who want to capture more market shares with converged services and new business revenue opportunities should consider us as an ideal and experienced partner in mobile TV.

Q: What type of wireless network do you need to implement a mobile TV solution?
A: We advise 3G.

For more information, go to http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/campaigns/mobileTV/

Article published courtesy of Balancing-Act Africa