The buzz surrounding mobile TV continues to grow with three separate announcements this week.
Nokia Corp. is leading a seven-company team working to launch a pilot effort to test mobile TV technology and consumer experiences in the Finnish capital of Helsinki.
MTV, Digita, Elisa, Nelonen, Sonera and The Finnish Broadcasting Co. are collaborating for the service, which will provide real-time TV and radio programs to subscribers using a Nokia 7710 smart phone equipped to receive the broadcasts. Test users have access to programs from broadcasters including MTV, CNN, BBC World, Euronews, Eurosport, ViVa Plus and Fashion TV until the pilot concludes June 20.
Elisa and Sonera are handling customer service for the trial, and Digita is providing the digital TV network. The service uses IP Datacasting (IPDC) technology, which conforms to the Digital Video Broadcasting for Handhelds standard. DVB-H was adopted by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) last year as the standard for European mobile TV services.
Meanwhile, France Telecom SA and French wireless carrier Bouygues SA said they hope to partner to bring mobile TV to a panel of 200 French subscribers. The companies will team with wireless telecommunications and satellite TV affiliates to bring a series of channels to selected customers via DVB-H technology.
The offering, which is slated to debut in June, is pending regulatory approval.
Finally, Sprint PCS Vision fans can access complete tournament coverage from Atlantic Coast Conference postseason play and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament from technology company Air2Web and Raleigh, N.C.-based television news channel WRAL-TV. The service includes updated scores, game recaps and schedules, and is offered to Vision users at $4 a month.
“WRAL continues to raise the bar in wirelessly delivering news and information to its viewers,” said Len Emmick, Air2Web’s vice president of sales. “They were the first local TV station in the country to offer news, traffic and weather on mobile phones. Now, with the addition of ACC and NCAA tournament news, they will be the first local station to offer real-time sports content.”
