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Thursday, 19 July 2007 |
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Brussels sprouts the DVB-H standard for EU mobile TV. Why bother? Because all the rest are nasty foreign norms and who invented GSM, anyway?
“Mobile broadcasting is a tremendous opportunity for Europe to maintain and expand its leadership in mobile technology and audiovisual services," says Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for the Information Society and Media. "Europe is today at a crossroads. We can either take the lead globally — as we did for mobile telephony based on the GSM standard developed by the European industry — or allow other regions take the lion's share of the promising mobile TV market. 'Wait-and-see' is not an option. The time has come for Europe's industry and governments to switch on to mobile TV."
EC statements like this are rubbish: “Until now, the introduction and take-up of mobile TV in the EU has been slow while Europe's competitors have progressed significantly. Unless Europe takes concrete action immediately, it risks losing its competitive edge. For example, the mobile TV penetration rate of South Korea, Asia's most developed mobile TV market, is close to 10%. Yet penetration in Italy, the EU's most advanced market, is still less than 1%.”
Reding points to standards in technology, spectrum allocation and a benign regulatory regime as key drivers for mobile TV in Europe. The authorities in Europe are also betting that the 2008 Beijing Olympics will swing the technology in Europe’s favour. That strikes me as stupid. Brussels says that the market may be worth US$20bn by 2011. Yes, that strikes me as stupid, too. Unless they are right.
Jim Chalmers
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