Responding to EU telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding’s call for a single mobile TV standard in Europe based on DVB-H, the UMTS Forum has gone on the defensive with a number of recommendations for the rollout of mobile TV across the European Union
The industry group seems to believe that it will be unpractical to impose a single standard and it wants to see the market decide on the rollout of mobile TV standards in Europe.
UMTS Forum reaffirmed its "technologically neutral position" and seemed to question the logic of the EU telecoms commissioner's comments made earlier this year. “The European Commission should be creating an environment where Mobile TV can flourish in all EU member states,” said Bosco Fernandes, chair of the Forum's Joint Group.
The Joint Group argued that there will be several co-existent standards and solutions for mobile TV. Customers, however, will not be interested in the underlying technology as long as they can enjoy a compelling user experience that is affordable with handset pricing comparable to 3G/UMTS phones.
“There are other ways of accomplishing interoperability, and mobile TV is not the same as classical TV”, added Fernandes.
In its Recommendations, the Joint Group looks to the Commission to create a regulatory environment that minimises technical and commercial barriers for industry players across EU member states.
The UMTS Forum wants the European Commission to "take these recommendations into consideration when issuing its forthcoming communication to EU Member states".
One recommendation was that part of the ‘digital dividend’ from switchover to digital TV broadcasting is made available for mobile services in all member states.
It also wanted the Euroepan Commission to advise Member States to release a minimum of one MUX (i.e. 8 MHz) of UHF spectrum (470 – 862 MHz band) for mobile TV broadcasting with immediate effect and to set explicit goals for the release of additional UHF spectrum several years before analogue switch-off.
It also wanted Governments and regulators to publish a roadmap for the allocation of spectrum and appropriate licensing procedures to enable the mass market commercialisation of mobile TV services in the next few years.