Flo TV is dead according to this report;
Qualcomm is dropping Flo TV service
Savor the irony as regulators debate the best use of broadcast spectrum.
We actually have reports that some Radio Shack outlets never sold a single one of the $250 units since its launch in 2009. For the majority of Americans who’ve never heard of this device, the Flo TV service multi cast a dozen low res channels on Ch55 to a portable device with a 3.5” screen.
This was dead on arrival for several factors, Portable digital TVs with higher resolutions and larger screens can now be had for around $50 with no monthly fee. Second, if you’re a Smartphone user, carrying around another portable device just wasn’t very appealing for many people.
If the above reasons weren’t enough to overcome, it carried a $15/monthly charge. People are saturated with subscription fees and Flo TV didn’t offer much you couldn’t get from a portable digital TV or by streaming video from a Smartphone.
Here is the irony: The broadcast television spectrum grab the FCC has proposed, if brought to fruition, would most likely be employed for a similar type multichannel pay TV service. The lower frequencies utilized currently by broadcasters don’t lend themselves to wireless broadband as readily as to one way digital broadcasting services (like Flo TV), which can survive with lower bitrates, greater interference and less efficient antennas.
Think anyone from the FCC’s broadband commission will glean any lessons here? Nah, I didn’t think so either.