South
African
Government
backtracks on
sole licence |
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NEWS that has been welcomed throughout the country, the South
African government has backtracked on its original plan to create
an exclusive, sole licence for mobile TV. Communications Minister
Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri announced that there would be multiple
licence holders after originally stating that there would be
only one company who would gain the exclusive mobile TV network
licence. In 2007, she had said that that mobile TV broadcasting
services would be provided on a single network with national
coverage, using the DVB-H standard, and the licence holder would
operate along open and non-discriminatory principles. South
African analysts slammed the original move condemning it for
paving the way for creating a monopoly similar to that existing
until only recently by the South African pay-TV market. The
new announcement will come as a welcome relief to those companies
who had seen the football World Cup which will be held in South
Africa in 2010 as presenting a great opportunity for mobile
TV. The news has come as particular relief for MultiChoice which
planned to introduce a mobile TV service available before the
World Cup.
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HEADLINE
NEWS |
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Packet
Vision in UDcast link-up |
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 VIDEO
advertising provider Packet Vision has joined forces with
IP broadcast solutions provider UDcast to demonstrate what
they believe to be the world's first solution for targeted
television advertising over mobile TV. The two firms are hoping
to cash in on a mobile video marjket wich is expected to be
worth more than $3.5 billion buy the end of this year. The
first public presentation of the new advertsing technology
will take place at this year's IBC and will include an example
of a geographically targeted advertising campaign, showing
how content can be delivered to mobile TV users over standard
DVB-H networks. The showcase will aim to highlight the symbiotic
relationship between mobile TV and targeted advertising. The
two firms say that the latter brings revenue to mobile TV,
which in turn, provides the targetable platform and customer
base which will help to accelerate the growth of addressable
television advertising. Packet Vision claims to have delivered
a number of successfully completed targeted advertising campaigns
managed by over commercial IPTV networks during the past 12
months and is keen to extend this work into mobile TV.
 For
its part, UDcast mobile TV solutions, including geographic
targeted content and advertising support - is already integrated
into the transmitters of a number of vendors, with further
announcements expected to follow at this year's IBC. Tony
Hart, business development director of Packet Vision was confident
that the time was right to showcase the joint venture with
UDcast, "We've seen a massive increase of interest in
targeted advertising and are already working with IPTV broadcasters,
network owners and vendors, not to mention advertising agencies
and brands."
Antoine
Clerget, CEO and co-founder, UDcast added, "We expect
targeted advertising to be an important element of mobile
TV business models, including free-to-air services where finding
ways to generate revenue from advertising will be essential."
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Operators
urged to embrace FTA TV |
MOBILE
networks operators should learn the lessons from the recently
announced closure of subscription mobile TV services and embrace
free-to-air mobile (FTA) TV says FTA technology supplier Telegent.
The company was commenting specifically on reports from Germany
stating that DVB-H licence owner Mobile 3.0 was to shut down
operations before launching a commercially available mobile
TV service even after lengthy trials. Telegent asserts that
Mobile 3.0's lack of consumer traction was attributed to lack
of cooperation by German operators who introduced free-to-air
mobile TV handsets after losing the DVB-H license-such as Vodafone
Deutschland, albeit not mentioned specifically by the form.
Telegent says that if true, Mobile 3.0's failure to launch would
be the second unsuccessful attempt to establish subscription
broadcast mobile TV in Germany.
 The
failure to operate did not mean that there was no demand or
future in mobile TV though, claimed Commented Weijie Yun, CEO
of Telegent, "Despite the lack of consumer traction for
subscription mobile TV services, there is no question that mobile
TV technology works, or that consumers like to watch TV on their
handset. The key to success for mobile TV is to first understand
what consumers want, and in this respect, content is king.
"Consumers are open to place-shifting television, provided
that the content that they are familiar with and already enjoy
stays the same and is accessible at the times that they are
accustomed to viewing it. Free-to-air mobile TV enables operators
to have access to the most popular content, which then provides
a platform for the delivery of value-added services."
Yun
added that FTA mobile TV could work as a complement to the long
term goals of pay TV services. "FTA mobile TV may serve
as the route to spur widespread adoption of mobile TV; pay TV
services can then follow. New consumers of mobile TV might initially
choose a FTA mobile TV feature over a subscription service.
However, the rate of consumer adoption will be much faster,
opening opportunities to upsell premium content to a broader
audience already accustomed to watching TV on their handset."
Wun
also suggested that by offering a FTA service, operators would
have the opportunity to leverage the service for branding and
differentiation and improve their competitive position in the
marketplace.
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Shanghai
Mobile upgrades network |
 AS
PART of its IP network transformation Shanghai Mobile, a subsidiary
of China-based telecoms operator China Mobile, has upgraded
its mobile network for increased video traffic. The telco has
asked Alcatel-Lucent to supply packet optical transport technology
for the project which is designed to provide Shanghai Mobile
with a converged infrastructure able to support mobile data
traffic and innovative applications, including high-speed Internet
and video services. At the same time, Shanghai plans to optimise
network availability, reducing backhaul costs and increasing
service reach. The network upgrade is planned to completed in
time for the 2008 Olympic Games which should support an upswing
of full packet traffic such as mobile video.
Alcatel-Lucent
says that it is confident that its new packet transport infrastructure
will provide the operator with the higher speed connectivity
required to efficiently deliver multimedia applications such
as mobile video and music on demand. The technology should enhance
the network's backhaul capacity, efficiency and service delivery.
The company's solution is part of its Mobile Evolution Transport
Architecture (META). The contract was signed through Alcatel
Shanghai Bell, Alcatel-Lucent's company in China. To date no
financial details have been disclosed.
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