Vodafone mobile TV swamped at launch

Launch of Vodafone mobile TV plagued by network congestion and latency issues

Mobile phone giant Vodafone launched its mobile TV services earlier this week, but the offering may have become a victim of its own success.

Many users reported being unable to access the service due to excessively high demand.

In a statement Vodafone explained that there were no capacity issues. However, some users may have initially experienced minor issues accessing the service due to higher than expected demand at launch.

Through a deal struck with digital television provider BSkyB, Vodafone UK customers with UMTS handsets are now able to watch Sky Mobile TV in 3G coverage areas.

The operator offers two packages delivering a combined 19 channels including Sky One, Discovery, MTV, The History Channel and The Biography Channel. A selection of these are broadcast 'live' and others are 'made for mobile' channels.

But many users have continually been denied the service due to high levels of traffic, while those that have managed to connect have been plagued by blocky images possibly caused by network congestion and latency issues.

However, this may have something to do with the service being made available for free until January, an offer which may be prompting high numbers of Vodafone's 250,000 3G subscribers to try out the service in its early days.

Overall, though, users appear to be impressed with the quality of service delivered to the very small screen.

Following the free trial period, which ends on 31 January 2006, customers will be charged £5 per month for the service. More details of the offer can be found here.

Vodafone did not return calls seeking to clarify the situation.