EU picks DVB-H for mobile TV

Link: European Regulators Pick Nokia’s DVB-H Mobile TV Standard — Mobile TV — InformationWeek

According to reports, the European Union has decided to go with the DVB-H standard for mobile TV. This is a bit of a blow for companies backing streaming TV via 3G data – DVB-H is an adaptation of the existing DVB-T terrestrial digital TV standard, which relies on the existing broadcast TV network.

“I know that competition among different standards can, for some time, be a good way to let the market identify the best solution,” EC telecommunications regulator Viviane Reding told an industry conference. “But we have been waiting too long. The opportunities are slipping away. It is time to break the deadlock.”

She added that she favors the DVB-H standard because it’s based on and partially financed by European interests.

The European Commission is due to publish the DVB-H standard in mid-July. Whereas existing services like ROK TV and operator services from Vodafone and Orange rely on TV streaming via IP over 3G, the DVB-H standard is a ‘broadcast’ multicast service – with O2, Nokia and transmission company Arquiva trialing a service in Oxford back in 2005.