EU opts for DVB-H

THE MANDARINS in the European Commission have ruled that throughout all Europe the mobile TV broadcasting standard shall be DVB-H and will write to all member governments to make it so.

DVB-H, or Digital Video Broadcasting for Handhelds is already the most widely used mobile TV format in Europe.

However the move will be bad news for those mobile phone operators such as Verizon Wireless and AT&T that use rival standards such as MediaFLO or DMB.

DVB-H is used by Nokia, Motorola, Philips, Sagem, Sony Ericsson and Samsung.

It does mean that there will be different standards operating in Europe and the US too where Verizon and AT&T are more than just bit players. However the market is a little more developed in the EU at the moment where mobile phone use is much more extensive.

Ovum analyst Matthew Howett told AP that the EC backing for one standard creates "some certainty" for operators planning mobile broadcasting services.

The EC is predicting there will be a steep increase in demand for mobile TV in 2009. µ

L'Inq
International Herald Tribune