Fractus, the fractal antenna technology company, has developed a custom-built DVB-H antenna for Sagems new myMobileTV handset, making it the smallest DVB-H handset on the market with an internal antenna.
The miniature antenna measures 33 x10.5 x 7mm, and supports the DVB-H standard on the UHF (470 – 750 MHz) frequency band. The myMobile TV handset is just 97 x 47 x 23mm in size, with a 56 x 40mm swivel QVGA colour screen.
Fractus points out that the vast majority of Mobile TV handsets currently on the market use an external antenna, while the few using internal antennas are much bulkier than Sagems new design. Fractus also overcame other RF challenges as the GSM and DVB-H frequency bands used in the phone intersect, potentially creating a major interference issue.
Simply put, DVB-H is the single greatest challenge facing handset designers today,  as consumers are not willing to compromise on the aesthetic of their device in return for new features says Alfonso Sanz, Fractus Lead Engineer, Products & Services Division. Most people could be forgiven for thinking that the external mobile antenna had been relegated to the history books, but Mobile TV has brought about its reappearance.”
To save space, the antenna for the myMobileTV handset was designed using Fractuss patented fractal antenna technologies, allowing Sagem to create a smaller phone platform than what has been achieved by other Mobile TV manufacturers.
Mobile TV raises major interference challenges, caused by overlapping DVB-H and GSM frequencies, and also from the differing body position when holding the phone in front of the body to watch TV, as opposed to the typical position against the head when making a call. Sagems myMobileTV handset posed additional antenna design challenges because its swivel QVGA colour screen enables the handset to take multiple form factors – each of which demands meticulous RF planning to ensure consistently high reception.
Fractus provided Sagem with complete antenna design, development, support, testing, manufacturing and approval services to ensure the customised antenna was as effective as possible within the handset, while respecting Sagems mechanical and design requirements.
Fractus was the first telecoms antenna developer to announce a suite of DVB-H and ISDB-H internal Mobile TV antenna solutions for all three mobile TV frequencies; VHF, UHF and 1.6GHz L-band, in late 2006. The Fractus TVNow range of antennas for Mobile TV was shortlisted for the GSM Associations Global Mobile Awards 2007.