The telecommunication ministers of the EU informed themselves today on the mobile use of television services - Mobile TV - during their Informal Meeting at the sidelines of the CeBIT Fair in Hanover. Market analyses point to the a sector that will be able to grow to some 100 million subscribers throughout Europe by 2010. In the words of German Minister of Economics and Technology Michael Glos, "This dynamic trend offers a unique opportunity for the European ICT branch. It is one more important element of the Lisbon Strategy and, owing to its innovative potential, will make a sustained contribution for more growth and employment." The European Commission plans to issue a Communication next July, that will more precisely define the market opportunities.
Mobile TV is transmitted via conventional broadcasting and can thus reach many viewers. While the conventional TV markets are largely national markets, Mobile TV will spread throughout Europe, meaning that media companies are likely to benefit from economies of scale. While the new technology is only in its infancy in Germany with Düsseldorf's pilot project "Mobiles Fernsehen Deutschland GmbH (MFD), Italy, Finland, and the UK are already reporting successful market development. The EU telecommunication ministers are using their Informal Meeting to exchange experience with these three pioneers.
Two technologies are currently competing on the market: T-DMB (Terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) and DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting for Handhelds) display differences in the underlying technologies and use different bands and channeling. The latter is offered by a mobile telephony consortium including T-Mobile, O2, and Vodafone. The market will decide which of the two broadcasting techniques will win acceptance. While O2's Chairman, Dr. Gröger, briefed the ministers and the responsible EU Commissioner Reding on DVB-H, Dr. Stender presented the T-DMB technology he favors on behalf of the MFD start-up company.
