EC issues mobile TV guidelines

Demand for mobile TV is growing in Europe

The European Commission has issued a set of guidelines aimed at accelerating the adoption of mobile TV on Europeans' mobile phones.

Along with the addition of the DVB-H standard to the EU list of official standards in March 2008, these guidelines are designed to help push the promotion of competitive mobile TV services in the EU.

"Successful commercial launches of mobile TV in Austria, Italy, Finland and the Netherlands have proved that efficient authorisation procedures are a key factor for the fast take-up of mobile TV," said Viviane Reding, EU commissioner for Telecoms and Media.

"In Austria, 5,000 citizens were using mobile TV within the first weeks of its launch. With predicted growth in sales during the Christmas period, many more Europeans should have the opportunity to watch TV on the go. This is why we want to give member states guidance on how to allow industry to get these innovative services on track as quickly and smoothly as possible.

Reding added that the Commission was pushing for a collaborative approach between broadcasters, mobile operators and platforms operators, and that it was attempting to avoid heavy regulation or burdensome authorisation procedures.

To date only a few EU countries, including Austria, Finland, France and Germany, have adopted legislation for new mobile TV services, but the Commission reckons the digital switch-over will be a perfect time to ramp up growth as some of the freed-up spectrum can be allocated to mobile TV services.

With analysts predicting that mobile TV revenues worldwide will reach more than €7.8bn in 2013, the Commission says it has worked closely with member states to identify the main principles that regulators and governments should follow when authorising operators to provide mobile TV services.

According to the report, the key to successfully avoiding delays is a straightforward, transparent and non-discriminatory procedure for awarding licences, and the quality of the service delivered to customers, including indoor coverage and transmission quality, should be part of the award conditions.

Furthermore, the guidelines recommend that frequencies made available for mobile TV should be withdrawn if the service has not started within a reasonable period of time. They also advise regulators to keep the authorisation process open to all industry players and create conditions that encourage co-operation between operators and broadcasters.

Lastly, the Commission is calling on the industry to make sure that DVB-H-based mobile TV services in every EU country are interoperable and avoid proprietary technologies.