Nokia’s business development manager of multimedia experiences for the Asia Pacific region, Bruce Webb, said he expected an Australian commercial roll-out to begin at some point in 2008.
Webb said most DVB-H handsets would offer a built-in program schedule, which in some cases could be used to record shows for later viewing.
The Sydney DVB-H trial involved 375 users and ran from July 19, 2005 until January 31, this year. The trial aimed to prove the feasibility of mobile TV in the local market.
Participants could access a selection including 10 Foxtel channels, ABC, SBS, Nine and CNN.
Data provided by Nokia showed that 80 per cent of the 375 Sydneysiders "liked the ability to watch TV anytime, anywhere". Average viewing habits were one or two 25-minute sessions a day.
Mobile TV is expected to be a huge growth sector in the coming years – research firm Frost & Sullivan predicted the global DVB-H market would grow from $US60 million ($77 million) last year to $US2 billion in 2010.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
Isn’t DVB-H a step backwards? Wouldn’t you rather see operators pushing for more evolved networks (3G, 4G) to stream video over IP instead of using the broadcast model?
Maybe I just don’t get it? Broadcast is a cheaper delivery method than IP but as a consumer I don’t want to be inconvenienced with the whole "there’s nothing good on" symptom that many people get.