ogram Provider Vehicular Device Mobile Phone S-DMB with S-DMB Receiver Receiver Gap Filler Base Stations Figure 15.2 S-DMB S-DMB service, as offered by SK Telecom, can provide for a total of 39 channels: 11 video channels, 25 audio channels, and 3 data channels. Being satellite based, S-DMB offers the advantage of having a much larger coverage area (e.g., the entire Korean peninsula), whereas T-DMB is today limited to a coverage area the size of the Seoul metropolitan area. One important distinction between T-DMB and S-DMB is that T-DMB is a free service, with the business profit model being advertising revenue, while S-DMB is a paid service. The main competitor of DMB is the DVB-H standard for mobile TV. (DVB-H is discussed in Chapter 10, "Next-Generation Networks.") The DMB initiative is part of the larger effort Broadband Convergence Network (BcN), much of which is being developed through ETRI, a nonprofit Korean govern- ment-funded research organization that has been at the forefront of technological excellence for more than 25 years. Korea has established a world-class infrastructure that provides high-speed access to businesses and homes and is recognized globally for its technological leadership. Key to this continued leadership is strong national growth-engine technologies, and DMB has been identified as one of them. The DMB industry is focusing on core technologies that are essential for next- generation broadcasting, such as intelligent broadcasting, telecom, and broadcasting Chapter 15 WMANs, WLANs, and WPANs convergent services and interactive DMB services, and it is seeking standardization of related technologies both in domestic and global markets. DMB will not only provide high-definition services but also intelligent, personalized, realistic, and paid services in addition to those converged with telecommunications. DMB is discussed in more detail in Chapter 16, "Emerging Wireless Applications." Virtual fiber (VF), also referred to as wireless fiber (WiFiber), is a solution to the "first-mile" prob