Delta V uses a television broadcast signal to deliver 256 Kbs service to internet users in remote areas and lets customers stay with their current ISPs and e-mail accounts.

by Wayne Kawamoto [January 22, 2002]

In the first step of a national rollout, Clear Channel Wireless, a division of Clear Channel Worldwide, launched its high-speed Internet service, Delta V ("del-ta vee"). The Delta V high-speed Internet service relies on a digital television signal that's provided by local television broadcasters. The company claims that data returned through the Delta V service arrives to customers at a rate of approximately 256 Kbps.

To start, Delta V is an Internet accelerator service that works in conjunction with an ISP to speed file delivery to end users. The company says that Delta V allows users to keep their current ISP and e-mail address, while adding high-speed download capabilities to their accounts. The service is provided through digital television signals and translated in the computer through a special PCI card, antenna and proprietary software.

In a typical dialup Internet connection, users request information from the Internet via their ISP. The information goes out through their modem, to their ISP, out to the Internet, back to the ISP and back to their computer via the same dialup connection. When using the Delta V system, a customer's computer diverts requests directly to a Delta V relay server. The relay server makes note of who made the request, and then makes the request for the data. When the data returns to the Delta V relay server it looks up who requested the data and relays it through the transmitter to the computer.

Delta V's use of a television signal may be important to Internet users whose location prevents them from getting high-speed Internet access. Furthermore, according to the company, Delta V is not dependent on wires.

Currently, Delta V is only available in the Cincinnati area. Clear Channel Wireless plans to offer Delta V in television markets throughout the United States in the coming year. In the Cincinnati area, Delta V provides high-speed service to anyone within the 24-county area served by WKRC-TV's digital broadcast signal, which originates in Cincinnati, Ohio. This includes Adams, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Hamilton, Highland and Warren counties in Ohio; Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, Mason, Owen, Pendleton, and Robertson counties in Kentucky; and Dearborn, Franklin, Ohio, Ripley, Switzerland, and Union counties in Indiana.

"As entrepreneurs, we saw the holes in the high-speed Internet service coverage map," said Leon Brown, chief operating officer of Clear Channel Wireless. "As broadcasters, we saw the opportunity to provide a service to the unserved users in those areas while delivering free, high definition television to the viewing public. Delta V is an answer to both of those diverse public needs."

Availability and pricing
Delta V costs approximately $40 per month in the Cincinnati area. Costs may vary in other locations. Installation costs begin at $250 and vary depending on location and other factors.

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