KPN goes live with mobile TV, France issues licences

The Dutch cell phone operator KPN will launch its DVB-H mobile TV service on  June 5th using handsets from LG and Samsung. The service, Europe's first to offer nationwide coverage, will begin with 10 channels including MTV, Discovery Channel and Nick Toons for €10 a month with more premium channels to come in the near future.

France, meanwhile, has taken a different approach and awarded mobile TV broadcast licences on a channel basis rather than issue a license for the service and let the service provider choose the channels. Applications came from 36 firms but only 13 licences were issued, with three being kept for public broadcasters France 2, France 3 and Arte.

The licences were issued on the basis that DVB-H was adopted, with two of the channels, Eurosport and Canal+, being subscription based. The regulator added that another 15 mobile TV licences could become available when analogue TV services move across to digital broadcasts.

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