Spectrum for Mobile Multimedia Services

Spectrum is a valuable and over-subscribed resource. New services like mobile multimedia broadcasts to the handset have to compete for spectrum with other licensed services such as standard and high definition digital television broadcasting (SDTV and HDTV). The best technical solutions for mobile multimedia to the handset need a frequency plan that will ensure commercial success on a wide international basis. However, there are technical, regulatory and transmission difficulties in using certain spectrum bands. This paper reviews the existing and proposed spectrum allocations for mobile multimedia services, describes the problems and limitations of the different bands, and identifies some of the relative advantages and disadvantages of the early implementations.