Digtial video broadcast-handheld technology appears to be securing its place as the No. 1 broadcast mobile television technology. The technology has scored at least 47 trials in 22 countries, according to the DVB Project.
Twelve of those trials have been completed, and at least eight different operators have launched services in six countries. DVB-H is also on tap to be launched by at least three operators before year’s end, with an additional three more deploying in 2008, according to the organization’s latest data.
Fertile ground
Interest in broadcast mobile television has grown to such a feverish pitch that hardly a month passes without a new trial being announced. The countries that have joined the herd and moved toward adopting the technology as a nationwide standard for mobile TV are also rising in numbers.
The shoe finally dropped in Europe in late July when the European Commission officially endorsed the DVB-H standard for mobile TV service.
“DVB-H offers an opportunity for mobile TV services to develop the economies of scale they need for uptake across Europe and globally. A common standard provides certainty concerning technological decisions, avoids the risk of market fragmentation and enables economies of scale which will result in lower prices for consumers and faster take-up. Interoperability remains an important objective,” the commission wrote following the decision.
More government agencies have warmed to the technology since then. Nigeria and Uruguay each recently adopted DVB-H as their respective broadcast mobile TV standard, and a new trial has just launched in tech-savvy Taiwan. Domestically, HiWire L.L.C. launched a trial in Las Vegas just days before the European Commission’s decision.
“I would believe that DVB-H is going to be the technology used in Europe, but there’s still some uncertainties until the European Commission really makes DVB-H mandated,” said Tina Teng, an analyst at iSuppli. The majority of DVB-H’s current market share comes thanks to its progress in Europe, where DVB-H backer Nokia Corp. carries heavy influence throughout the region, she added.
“Nokia’s role cannot be ignored, and they have great influence in Europe. It’s their home market. They have a really strong position,” she added.
The numbers
ISuppli forecasts at least 2.4 million DVB-H-capable handsets will be shipped by the year’s end; Qualcomm Inc.’s competing technology, MediaFLO, will see at least 200,000 MediaFLO-capable handsets shipped during the same period.
MediaFLO USA Inc., which has already inked deals with the two largest U.S. carriers, is expected to drive more capable handsets into the market in 2008. ISuppli expects 2.3 million MediaFLO-capable handsets to be shipped in 2008, compared with 4.2 million for DVB-H. MediaFLO USA service has already launched via Verizon Wireless and is set to launch through AT&T Mobility sometime in the next quarter.
MediaFLO is expected to see its greatest boost in 2009, after the service becomes more saturated in the U.S. market, according to iSuppli. At least 8.1 million MediaFLO-capable handsets are expected to ship that year, the firm forecasts.
While the number of DVB-H-capable handsets is expected to more than double from 2008 to 2009, MediaFLO is expected to see handset shipments almost quadruple in the same period.
Of the 50 million mobile TV-capable handsets expected to ship in 2010, 10.5 million of those are expected to be compatible with MediaFLO technology while 17.5 million will carry a DVB-H chipset, according to iSuppli’s data.
“I think we have always seen DVB-H as going to be a more dominant technology in the mobile TV space,” Teng said.
“Qualcomm is more like a vertically integrated solution provider. I think it’s really attractive to most of the carriers. It’s like one-stop shopping, they can get the content, and they can have the solution implemented,” she added.
“It’s going to be interesting to see in the next couple quarters.”
