Mobile TV Broadcasting: Lot of Standards

There is a fragmentation of standards for digital mobile TV broadcasting that appears to be the way of the future, just as we have NTSC, PAL, and SECAM for analog TV. In digital mobile TV broadcasting, several of the standards are being used in only one country today, and that situation is likely to continue in the future. Examples are MediaFLO in the US and CMMB in China. The US Advanced Television Standards Committee (ATSC) is developing its own mobile TV broadcast standard for local broadcasters in the US, called ATSC-M/H. In addition to the US, the standard could be used in other countries choosing ATSC as their digital TV standard.

The most widely deployed standard, in terms of number of services available, is DVB-H. In addition to being promoted by the European Union, DVB-H trials or limited services are operating in the Philippines, India, Vietnam, Kenya, Nigeria, Namibia, and soon, Indonesia. In Europe, France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Russia, and the Netherlands are expected to have DVB-H services on the air in 2008, joining Italy and Finland.

Another option for mobile TV broadcasting was brought to market in Southeast Asia, the Mid-East, and Africa, in 2007. Mobile handsets began shipping with analog TV receivers. Around five million receivers had shipped by the end of 2007. That number is expected to grow six times larger in 2008. There are many markets where digital broadcasts have not begun and analog shutoff is years away. Analog TV is free, the consumer just has to buy a handset with a receiver, making this an attractive proposition, similar to the way consumers have snapped up digital mobile TV broadcast receivers in Japan and South Korea, where the digital terrestrial service is free-to-air.

The launch of new digital mobile TV broadcast services in countries where they are currently not offered will drive an increase in mobile TV broadcast subscribers. In addition, as there are more services there will be larger numbers of handset models available at a range of prices. In-Stat expects the number of subscribers to grow from under 3 million at the end of 2007 to over 200 million in 2012.