Mobile TV standards confusion 'here to stay'

No harmonisation predicted in the near future

The current fragmentation of standards for digital mobile TV broadcasting is "here to stay", experts warned today.

ABI Research believes that the current situation, where different digital mobile TV broadcasting standards are used in different countries, is likely to continue in the foreseeable future.

The most popular mobile TV broadcast services are offered without a subscription, as in Japan and South Korea.

However, mobile TV broadcast services are viewed by many as a way to generate revenue, so many will be subscription-based.

DVB-H is the most widely used digital mobile TV broadcast standard in terms of number of operators having launched services, according to ABI.

The analyst firm expects that analogue mobile TV broadcast viewers will outpace digital mobile TV broadcast viewers and subscribers in 2009.

Worldwide mobile TV broadcast subscription revenue is expected to reach $12bn in 2012, according to the research.