by Peter J. Brown

Much is in motion on the multimedia over satellite map these days, and yet one of the events that stands out is the successful launch of the Mobile Broadcasting Satellite (MBSAT) in mid-March. Sitting up there at 144 degreesE, MBSAT is a Ku-band/S-band hybrid Space Systems/Loral 1300 satellite with a power rating of 4.7 kW and is billed specifically as a satellite equipped to provide MPEG-4 video and data broadcasting and CD-quality sound.

Hanbyol or Big Star as the Koreans call MBSAT, is owned and operated by Mobile Broadcasting Co. (MBCO) of Japan and SK Telecom of Korea. More than 50 Japanese companies have a stake in MBCO including Toshiba, Toyota, Fujitsu, Nippon TV, Panasonic, NTT Data and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance. In addition, SK Telecom, holding a 34.6 percent stake in MBSAT, will offer Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) services via its affiliate TU Media, with DMB phones from Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics expected shortly.

MBSAT is not the only S-band payload in operation. XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio, for example, are operating several S-band satellites, and Sirius has already demonstrated its ability to use the S-band downlink for streaming video. A Sirius executive described the video as running over a version of Windows Media 9 (WM9), which had been adapted for this mobile application.

Because so much had been made of the fact that MBSAT was specifically designed for MPEG-4 content delivery rather than WM9, we were immediately drawn to an important MPEG-4 part 10 aka AVC/H.264 licensing-related development that came just days after the MBSAT launch.

NHK, TBS, NTV, TV Asahi, Fuji TV and TV Tokyo, which rank as some of Japan’s leading broadcasters, reached an agreement with MPEG LA, which represents the AVC/H.264 patent holders. Under this new agreement, annual fees or royalties for AVC/H.264 encoding technology went out the window for the first time. In their place is a one-time fee of $2,500 per AVC/H.264 encoder. This was very big news indeed in advanced encoding circles given the level of unhappiness detected with the more rigid annual or recurring use fee structure that had dominated AVC/H.264 licensing fee discussions thus far.

At press time, however, this group of above-mentioned Japanese broadcasters appears to be setting its sights on a terrestrial version of the DMB service offered by MBCO in Japan. Still, these small ripples in the pond are bound to impact on a lot of other upcoming business ventures.

Just as one encouraging patent licensing or royalty-related advanced encoding development was being digested, we caught wind of another piece of news as we went to press, which hopefully will be resolved so major headaches do not mar the debut of the Big Star.

In short, there is a huge unresolved question about what royalties must be paid for the DMB phones and terrestrial gap filler support hardware in Korea. Apparently, a Japanese electronics giant, whose name will remain anonymous, has a number of DMB phone patents under review by the Korean government based on System E, which is the DMB standard adopted by Korea and Japan. Absent the establishment of a set fee or any fixed royalty agreement, the DMB phone business is subject to a series of unknowns.

As stated above, hopefully this can all be resolved in short order so the launch of commercial DMB services later this summer can proceed smoothly to the benefit of all parties involved.

Another last-minute stumbling block, however, is even more unexpected as the Korean National Assembly has apparently failed to provide any legislative groundwork for these new DMB services. The result could be a substantial delay of their actual launch.

Meanwhile on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, the U.S. Congress is once again demonstrating its power. For those who think the Federal Communications Commission enjoys this status, Congress says think again because Capitol Hill appears to be steaming ahead with a provision that would put an end to the practice by Echostar Communications Corp. of requiring certain customers to obtain a second dish in order to access local TV services via DBS satellite.

While long ago I dismantled the mini-dish farm that once occupied my backyard, the notion that Echostar is feeling the heat from this new emphasis on a single dish by Congress is disturbing at best. How Echostar intends to proceed with its core satellite service offering should be left to Echostar and its customers.

Echostar informed Congress that this creates major headaches for everyone involved. Likewise, this development will likely put the brakes on efforts to roll out new satellite services, particularly in underserved smaller markets.

Since this column is all about new and emerging multimedia satellite services, the notion that Congress is starting to dictate what service goes on what satellite dish, or what menu of services is deemed consumer-friendly via a Congressional stamp of approval, well, what does that say about what lies over the horizon as more dishes and more satellite service options come into view?

As you can see, things are a bit uncertain these days under the Big Star.

Peter J. Brown is Via Satellite’s Senior Multimedia & Homeland Security Editor. He also volunteers as a satellite technology and communications advisor to the Maine Emergency Management Agency.