LTE Broadcast Might Reincarnate FloTV - The UpStream

It was not long ago that Qualcomm announced their FloTV service. Pretty cool idea: watch a collection of cable channels without the need for cable anywhere you are. After several years of development and software services, the original dedicated devices, of which I have two sitting on my desk right now, were a 3.5" touchscreen running on a custom wireless network with dedicated spectrum. The long-term goal was to expand into larger screens, such as in-vehicle dash, headrest and ceiling screens, to enhance the travel experience, especially with kids.

Unfortunately, a low adoption rate combined with pretty laggy service cut that dream short. Qualcomm shut the service down mere months after launching its special hardware and service combination to the public and sold its spectrum to AT&T. Well, that spectrum was integrated into AT&T's LTE network and may end up back in use for FloTV. As it turns out, LTE has a broadcast mode in the specification, where if multiple devices are connecting to the same content, they can burst that content over a single channel. This would certainly prevent the lag issue experienced before.

The partnerships the company formed, both through FloTV and, of course, their primary processor business, could bring the service back, possibly with or without dedicated hardware. The original service was available on AT&T and Verizon handsets and, with both running LTE today, it could return better than before, using the broadcast capabilities. It would allow the service to run faster with less bandwidth for either service. How could it get better?

If you had the ability to watch ESPN, CNN or another network on your phone anywhere, would you? Would it be worth a little extra on your bill? Sound off below.