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Cheat Sheet: Mobile TV
Update: Watch this space…

By

Published: Thursday 22 November 2007

Here come the acronyms…
And the politics. DVB-H is backed by Nokia, which helped to develop it. Another variant - DVB-SH - is a satellite terrestrial hybrid, which is promoted by Alcatel-Lucent. Then there's MediaFLO, a rival standard that's big across the pond - developed and backed by Qualcomm. And then there's the aforementioned DAB-IP, which doesn't have the spectrum limitations currently holding up DVB-H but can't carry as many channels and doesn't have the clout of Nokia to drive adoption.

Analysts predict different standards will win out in different regions - with DVB-H the prime contender for Europe, MediaFLO currently doing well in the US, DMB dominating Korea and 1Seg big in Japan.

Acronym soup! I need a drink. So have any of these technologies been trialled in the UK?
Well, aside from Virgin's DAB-IP vehicle, other operators have dipped a toe or two in the water.

O2 ran a six-month, 16-channel mobile telly trial involving 360 customers in Oxford back in 2005/06 to assess DVB-H. There has, however, been no rush to launch anything - and a company spokeswoman stressed mobile telly is an "emerging technology" and therefore a risky business, adding: "Owing to the availability of suitable spectrum, we don't expect commercial services until at least 2009."

There has also been a trial of another type of mobile telly tech called TDtv. This is a proprietary technology owned by IPWireless. It works by using a piece of spectrum that most of the operators were given when they bought their 3G licences many moons ago but which has gone unused until now. Unlike other 3G-based streamed offerings, TDtv doesn't impact the performance of voice and data services on the network - or have the limitations associated with TV-over-3G - so could be a real contender. However, it also doesn't have the support of the EC or a giant such as Nokia so just because it might be more cost effective for operators, doesn't mean it will rise to the top. Like all emerging tech fields, mobile telly is a veritable theatre of strutting political interests.

3, Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone all collaborated in a trial of TDtv in Bristol back in 2006. Again, while encouraging noises were made at the end of the trial there has been no rollout announced.

Yet more UK trials - of Qualcomm-backed tech MediaFLO - involved broadcaster Sky. Again more encouraging noises but no launch commitments.

Right, I'm seeing a pattern.
Yep. It really is a case of watch this space. Not least because no one can be sure if consumers actually want to watch it.