According to a report by Analysys, the expected popularity of mobile television will overwhelm 3G networks by 2007. The study argues that if 40 percent of subscribers watch eight minutes of video per day on their mobile phones, the data requirement would exceed capacity on 3G networks. These networks are divided into cells, so if 500 people in the same cell want to watch the same video clip, the network must send a copy of that video clip over the network to each user. Although mobile television has not yet hit it big with consumers, operators have invested billions of dollars in constructing 3G networks that aim to provide the infrastructure for email, music, and video services.
Korea's SK Telecom came face-to-face with this problem after launching its popular mobile television service. After eight months the company had to build a satellite infrastructure for its video services.
For more on mobile television's strain on 3G networks:
- take a look at this story in ZDNet