Rumour Mill: Is Europe about to dump DVB-H requirement for mobile TV?

In March, the EU issued firm guidelines that DVB-H was very much the 'desired' standard to be adopted for mobile TV services in Europe. However, a statement from the EU issued Wednesday would indicate this support for DVB-H is beginning to evaporate, as officials play with words centred more on interoperability of mobile TV standards than the enforcement of a single technology.

While Viviane Reding, EU Telecoms and Media Commissioner, made reference to the success of mobile TV in Austria, Italy, Finland and the Netherlands as countries where services have been successfully launched, many mobile operators still struggle to implement a successful business model and uptake remains dismally low. A new study by Informa Telecoms and Media claims only South Korea and Japan are expected to see solid growth of mobile TV for the next two years, while Europe is not likely to experience market growth until sometime in 2009.

As reported in Mobile Europe, this week's statement, "aspects related to interoperability and roaming for mobile TV should be given due consideration in light of the wireless nature of the services," is particularly telling given the use of "due consideration"--made more interesting when measured against Reding's statement in March: "For Mobile TV to take off in Europe, there must first be certainty about the technology."

 For more:
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