India : Cellular operators urge Govt. to go slow on Mobile TV

Cellular operators in the country have asked the Government to go slow on devising regulations on Mobile TV, saying that the technology is "nascent" and the customer behaviour still uncertain.

"This is a nascent business and therefore, no decision should be taken which will restrict the development of the market or foreclose technological options," the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has told the telecom and broadcast regulator TRAI.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had last month issued a consultation paper for the stakeholders on issues relating to mobile television.

"Various technology solutions are being tested in the global marketplace. It is also important to recognise that customer behaviour and demands are also evolving," the operators said.
Mobile TV essentially uses DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast to Hand-held devices) technology for broadcasting content on mobile handsets, or any DVB-H enabled devices such as palmtops, gaming devices or laptops.

However, other technology options for Mobile TV are also available such as 3G, MediaFLO, T-DMB, and S-DMB.

So far, only Doordarshan has announced its foray into using DVB-H technology on its terrestrial networks. Other telecom and broadcasters are also planning to enter the new media platform.
The operators pointed out that the popularity of I-pods has enabled the customers to download TV or video content to a PC and then transfer it to a mobile device for viewing later on.
"This time-shifting and location-shifting potential is obviously similar in some ways to a Mobile TV proposition," the COAI said, adding the technology will retain a distinctive niche in its ability to provide time-critical content, such as news and sports anywhere, anytime.

"How the customers would react and willing to pay for these propositions is uncertain and it needs to be tested in each market," the operators said in their recommendations sent to the regulator.

Seeking views of the stakeholders, TRAI had said a range of issues pertaining to the new media platform needed to be addressed before its full rollout.
These issues include the preferred technology for mobile television service, whether to use satellite or terrestrial broadcast system, the spectrum requirements for analogue, Digital and Mobile TV terrestrial broadcasting and the methodology to be adopted for frequency spectrum allocation.

The issues also included examining the prevailing international practice, eligibility criteria for the player, net-worth requirement, foreign direct and indirect investment levels, technology to be adopted, license fee, revenue sharing, entry fees and bank guarantee.