Siano, ZTE bring DVB-H mobile TV phone to Italy

LONDON - Chinese telecoms equipment company ZTE has partnered with Siano Mobile Silicon Ltd. to produce a model of 3G DVB-H mobile phone capable of receiving video sequences and television programs, according to Siano.

ZTE’s first DVB-H phone, based on Siano’s multi-standard receiver chip, is due to go on distribution in Italy by Telecom Italia Mobile within the next few weeks according to sources.

The launch is expected to make ZTE (Shanghai, China) the first Chinese mobile phone maker to commercialize a mobile TV phone. The phone, called the Brionvega or N7100, includes 240 by 320 pixel color screen, 2-megapixel camera and 3.6-Mbit/s HSDPA modem.

The SMS1000 chipset from fabless chip company Siano (Netanya, Israel) is a quad-band, multi-standard mobile TV receiver. A combination of RF tuner and demodulator, the SMS1000 supports DVB-H, DVB-T, DAB, DAB-IP and T-DMB mobile digital standards, allowing ZTE to reuse its mobile TV phone for other standards and markets. The N7100 is due to demonstrated at the 3GSM conference and exhibition in Barcelona, on Feb. 12 to Feb. 16 at ZTE's booth. The DVB-H network in Italy provides coverage in over 2500 Italian Towns, reaching approximately 75 percent of the Italian population, Siano said.

"We are proud to introduce the most advanced 3G DVB-H phone in the European market," said Li Ying Feng, general manager of WCDMA mobile products at ZTE, in a statement issued by Siano. "With the N7100 every end user in Italy can now get a high quality mobile TV phone at an affordable price. What's especially impressive about the Brionvega phone is its amazing sensitivity, which makes it receive high quality DVB-H at locations where competing DVB-H phone models fail," he added.

"Having once developed a platform with the Siano solution, we can now easily derive additional mobile TV phones for different standards and regions," Li also said.

"With the N7100 having successfully passed high standards acceptance tests, this is yet another industry seal of approval for our family of mobile TV products, and we are looking forward to further global expansion in 2007," said Alon Ironi, chief executive officer of Siano, in the same statement.

Since its establishment in June 2004 Siano has raised $34.5 million from JVP, Walden Israel, Star Ventures, and Bessemer Venture Partners. The company has 65 employees and is based in Israel, with business development offices in Beijing, Taipei, and Seoul.