EU makes DVB-H mobile TV standard across Europe

The European Commission estimates that by unifying its member states under one standard, it can establish a single market for mobile TV that could reach some 500 million customers and a market value of nearly $32 billion by 2011.

By Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News -- Electronic News, 3/18/2008

The European Commission (EC) has added the DVB-H (digital video broadcasting handheld standard) to the European Union (EU) List of Standards, the basis for encouraging a harmonized provision of telecommunications across the EU.

The official endorsement is not surprising and follows on a July 2007 proposed strategy from the EC for promoting mobile TV across Europe. 

The EC estimates that by unifying its member states under one standard, the EU can establish a single market  for mobile TV that could reach some 500 million customers and a market value of nearly $32 billion (20 billion Euro) by 2011. 2008 will be a key year for mobile TV adoption in Europe, the EC said, because of the year’s prominent sporting events, including the European Football Championship and the Summer Olympic Games.

"For mobile TV to take off in Europe, there must first be certainty about the technology," said Viviane Reding, EU commissioner for the information society and media, in a statement Monday. “The next steps for implementing the EU strategy on mobile broadcasting will include guidance on the authorization regimes as well as the promotion of rights management systems based, as is DVB-H, on open standards"

After publication of the EC decision in the EU List of Standards in the EU's Official Journal, member states will be required to encourage the use of DVB-H, the commission said. The EC further said that its support of the DVB family of standards is also “an important signal given to third countries” about to take a decision on the technology for digital and mobile broadcasting.

Indeed, DVB-H is currently the most widely used standard for mobile TV in the EU. According to the EC, DVB-H is currently between trials and commercial launch in 16 countries and that commercial DVB-H services are already available in Italy, with further launches expected later this year notably in Finland, Austria, France, Switzerland, and Spain.

However, DVB-H is far from being a global standard. Competing transmission protocols to DVB-H include EVDO (evolution data optimized), UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system), and MediaFlo. Verizon Wireless and AT&T, the two largest US-based operators, have backed MediaFlo, for example.

Within its member states, the EC said a “transparent intellectual property rights regime, based on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and allowing low price of devices,” must be implemented and that, to do so, it continue to closely monitor progress made toward the constitution of the DVB-H patent pool.

The EC last month discussed best practice for mobile TV authorization with industry companies and member states, asking for contributions on the issue from all stakeholders. Guidelines on best practice are currently being prepared to help member states to deploy mobile TV, the EC said.

For more on mobile TV, see:

Mobile television: strong, weak, or zero reception?

Mobile television: Free, and location-free