UK: Digital TV might be spreading, but Mobile TV ain’t goin’ nowhere!

I read with interest an article on BBC News that is reporting on the uptake of Digital TV in the UK – apparently we are ahead of France, Germany, the US, and other countries, according to the National regulator, Ofcom.

Research suggests that 86% of homes in Britain can now receive digital on their main set, while 30% have digital video recorders

The report from Ofcom (The International Communications Market report) was actually more expansive than just Digital TV, and included other Comms technologies too:

• Across all the countries examined, average broadband take-up was 56% of households in 2007. Britain came in at 60%.
• Britain has more high definition television sets per capita than any other country in Europe, but less than in the US and Canada.
• Mobile phone use is soaring in emerging markets with 216 million new mobile subscriptions registered in Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2007.
• China alone added 88 million mobile users last year, more than the total number of subscriptions in Britain.

Anyway, I digress. Whilst we are leading in Digital TV take-up (apparently), I’d suggest we are certainly not leading in Mobile (Broadcast) TV. There have been a number of trials, and even one (unsuccessful) live launch, in the shape of Virgin Mobile’s DAB-IP TV. However, due to spectrum issues, and rollout costs, right now there are no immediate plans for delivery of a Mobile Broadcast TV service.

And this is where our lead in Digital TV dovetails nicely back in to Mobile TV lack of success – we are racing to shut off Analogue transmission (and go Digital) so that we can free up currently-taken terrestrial spectrum – which could then be re-purposed for things like Mobile TV – only trouble is, this isn’t due to happen until 2012!

You can read the article from BBC News here.

[Image via: Digital UK]