FALLS CHURCH, Va.—Disparate standards and lack of spectrum could hinder the growth of the mobile TV industry, according to a new report from Telecom Trends International Inc.
The industry has the potential to generate $107.3 billion in annual service revenue by 2012, predicts the report. But competing standards and lack of frequency allocations threaten to reduce potential annual revenues to about $46 billion in the next seven years representing a loss to the industry of $61.3 billion by 2012, said the report.
The report predicts 639 million people will use mobile TV services during the time period.
“Since mobile TV is being rolled out in diverse geographical pockets, in multiple technologies, and manifold frequency bands, the end-result will be relatively high-cost handsets,” said the report. High-priced handsets will likely be out of reach of the biggest potential market segment for mobile TV services—the youth segment.
The report said MBMS technology holds the greatest near-term potential due to its use of cellular frequencies. However, as usage increases, the industry will likely have to transition to an out-of-band technology, according to the report. In the long run, DVB-H and Qualcomm Inc.’s MediaFlo technologies hold the greatest potential, particularly if the two work toward a single standard, said Telecom Trends.
