The future of TV was a key theme at this year’s Communicasia 2006 show in Singapore, with both mobile TV and Video, and IPTV set to top the agenda according to Mark Newman, Chief Research Officer at Informa Telecoms & Media.

“As voice revenues continue to decline and eventually become a commodity, both fixed and mobile operators are looking to differentiate their services from those of their competitors and to avoid scenarios where price is the only differentiator,” comments Newman. “There are proven business models and seemingly insatiable demand for television services so it is extremely tempting for telcos to try and get into this sector,” he continues.

Mobile TV & Video
Informa predicts that there will be 120mn mobile TV users by 2010. Adoption rates will vary from region to region as the infrastructure is deployed and handsets begin to proliferate.  Asia Pacific will lead the way with 2.4mn anticipated users by the end of this year, growing to 59.4mn users by 2010 or nearly 50% of the global market. Growth will be driven by innovative services from Korean operators which continue to gain traction in the market, with China and Japan also rolling out mobile TV services.

IPTV
A similar picture unfolds with IPTV. The traditional model whereby only broadcasters could deliver TV services is now breaking down. Any broadband Internet service provider can now deliver TV. Some of the highest broadband household penetration rates are evident in the region which means that Asia will play an important role in the roll-out of IPTV globally.  Hong Kong has a broadband household penetration rate of 74%, Korea, 73% and Taiwan 64.9%. Informa forecasts by 2010 there will be 26mn IPTV subscribers, 10.6mn of whom will be based in the Asia Pacific region.

3G and WiMAX
The interest in TV raises important question marks for mobile operators over the role that 3G and WiMAX will play. Will 3G broadband technologies help prime the market for mobile TV? Or will 3G as a bearer for mobile TV be superseded by dedicated broadcasting technologies? WiMAX meanwhile continues to attract interest as a low cost wireless broadband technology but it still remains unclear where WiMAX fits in a mobile operator’s roadmap. The most aggressive deployments of WiMax will likely be from start-up operators that are competing with existing telcos and mobile operators.
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