BT has announced the launch of its mobile broadcast TV service, Movio, with partner Virgin Mobile.
The service, for which Virgin currently has one handset — the Lobster 700TV — runs over the existing Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) network and also provides access to radio channels on that network.
BT claims Movio is the first wholesale service in the world to include live TV, DAB radio, a seven-day programme guide and "red-button" interactivity for mobile phones.
Channels include BBC1, ITV1 and E4, although certain content such as "some film, sport and US-produced content" will not be broadcast on the service, BT said on Thursday. The BBC1 tie-in is a year-long trial and Channel 4 may join in later, although it is providing its made-for-mobile "Short Cuts" service in the meantime.
"Viewing TV via the mobile is fast becoming a reality and the popularity of our existing services proves a strong demand for mobile viewing already exists," said Rod Henwood, Channel 4's director of new business, on Thursday.
However, analysts have previously told ZDNet UK that, while demand exists, no one yet knows how big take-up will be and operators who don't work together on standards are taking a big risk with the technology.
Analysts at Gartner said on Thursday that the mobile sector could get a boost from TV services, if they are implemented correctly.
"In mature markets, mobile TV might be a good way to convince people to replace existing phones. However, vendors need to design handsets carefully. Trends towards thin phones and smaller 3G devices mean users might not appreciate a bulkier device, even though a larger screen will be easier to watch," said Gartner.
On Wednesday Orange issued a statement saying it had "considered the DAB service from BT, but with only one compatible handset currently available and only a small number of channels on offer, [streaming TV over 3G] remains the best means of delivery for Orange".
Another rival format to DAB-IP is DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting — Handheld), which can supply a greater number of channels but for which spectrum is currently unavailable.
Virgin is expected to release pricing and availability details for the Lobster handset later on Thursday.
Talkback
Mobile TV certainly is a major business opportunity for the Mobile Phone industry but only if the costs of delivery are acceptable to subscribers and they can pick-up their TV subscription channels when they are Roaming.
The Service could be a non-starter on both these counts.
SIP based WiFi Handsets is likely to be the way to go because the delivery cost is extremely low and The Internet makes the IPTV Channels accessible Worldwide.
Why doesn't a phone maker partner with a Digital receiver maker and just put the damn receiver into the phone? It is not hard and can be easily done.
Is that just too clever and laterally based thinking though?
The Sega Game Gear could do it with an extender for analogue TV and that was back in the 90s, it would be easy to put a digital receiver into a phone, especially with the smart phones, it can be done on a PC with a digital receiver there is no reason why this cannot be done with the phone. Then again doing it directly on the phone won't cost billions to research and develop and it won't force customers into expensive digital TV contracts will it? Doing it this way customers have to pay for it and make the telephone companies richer than they already are.