DMB and DVB-H conquer the world

Mobile TV standards DMB and DVB-H have led a fierce battle in the domination of the mobile TV market.

Two mobile TV broadcast network operators, based on DVB-H and DMB respectively, have decided to leave the mobile TV business. On the other hand more progress has been made by both technologies in Europe and Asia where several services were launched and some important partnerships signed.

Indonesia: Local consumer electronics manufacturer PT Agis has started a partnership with mobile TV and IP TV technology firm Broadband Network Systems (BNS) and infrastructure provider Toshiba. PT Agis will act as the service provider while BNS will aggregate content and Toshiba deploy the network. The broadcast mobile TV service will be based on the DMB technology.

Italy: Local public broadcaster RAI has opted for DMB as the technology format for its new mobile TV platform. The choice come as the result of a deployment cost comparison between DVB-H and DMB. The DMB network deployment cost is around €8m for a 85 per cent population coverage while a similar deployment with DVB-H would cost in the order of €300m. The service is expected to launch in Roma in August with 3 TV channels and several radio stations. RAI plans to cover more than half of the population by Christmas this year.

Malaysia: Local pay TV operator MiTV and handset manufacturer Nokia have signed a partnership is order to launch a DVB-H based mobile TV broadcast service during the second half of 2007. Nokia will be responsible for the end-to-end integration of the mobile TV service.

Netherlands: Mobile TV start-up Mobiele Televisie Nederland (MTVN) launched DMB trials in The Hague. The service uses existing digital audio broadcasting (DAB) frequencies. The purpose of this trial is to prove the Dutch government that this spectrum, to be awarded this year, is also appropriate for mobile TV broadcasting. KPN is currently the unique broadcast mobile TV licence holder in the region and uses DVB-H.

Philippines: Leading local mobile operator Smart Communications and broadcaster 360media have launched a mobile TV service called myTV in 6 major cities in the Philippines. The service uses the DVB-H mobile TV technology. The mobile TV package offers access to 10 channels including CNN, Cartoon Network and MTV for 488 Pesos (€7.8) per month. The service will be free as a promotional offer until 31 August. Smart Communications expects between 60,000 and 70,000 mobile TV subscribers in the coming months.

Portugal: Leading national broadcaster TVI and second largest mobile operator Vodafone Portugal have finished a DVB-H trial in Lisbon and are looking forward to launch commercial services relatively soon. No specific launch date was mentioned. The service uses Thomson's SmartVision platform to broadcast 8 mobile TV channels.

South Korea: Satellite mobile TV service provider TU Media signed a content deal with major national broadcaster MBC. The service counted 1.17m subscribers at the end of June. Through this partnership TU Media will expand its channel portfolio from 12 to 15 channels which is almost twice competing mobile TV broadcast service operated by the three main TV broadcasters in the country.

Switzerland: The Federal Communication Commission (ComCom) is to award broadcast mobile TV licences in Q4 2007. Applicants have until 27 July to submit their mobile TV proposition. ComCom follows the European decision regarding the standard to adopt and recommends the use of DVB-H. Five criteria will be used for the selection including coverage and roll-out, concept and implementation, business and service plan, contribution to media diversity, coherence and credibility of the candidature. The licence is for 10 years and requires 30 per cent population coverage by the end of May 2008 and 50 per cent by end of 2012.

USA: Mobile TV broadcast operator and Aloha Partners venture HiWire is to offer access to 24 TV channels during its trial in Las Vegas this summer. Content partners include Discovery Communications (7 channels), MTV networks (6 channels) and Turner Broadcasting (2 channels). Mobile operator T-Mobile will be the service provider during the trial.

Vatican: After a successful T-DMB trial in partnership with Korea's Ministry of Information and Communications, the Vatican has decided to adopt the standard for commercial mobile TV and radio broadcasts

France, UK : ???