Page 13 - Sphere No.17 (Sep 2006)

SPHERE 11
3G
sponse was immediate.
“The launch of the
first DVB-H Digital Mo-
bile TV has been a tre-
mendous success,” said
Vincenzo Novari, Chief
Executive Officer of 3
Italia. “Soccer fans filled
3 Italia’s shops to buy TV
phones. The idea of watching a World
Cup match when you are outdoors re-
ally took off and an increasing num-
ber of fans followed the matches on 3
Italia’s Digital Mobile TV.
“Our customers were fascinated by
the digital quality of the images and of course the fact that Italy
was one of the favourites for the World Cup was also a factor.
The Italian public’s passionate support for the national soccer
team was matched by the response to the TV phones.
“And for those who aren’t interested in soccer there is news,
reality shows, movies and every kind of entertainment available
24 hours a day. Commuters, people working for public services
and technology buffs are the first target market for this new
way of broadcasting television content.”
3 Italia’s Digital Mobile TV is available on special LG and
Samsung handsets offering a selection of the best channels
of the main Italian broadcaster (RAI, Sky and Mediaset) plus
a couple of channels produced by 3 Italia itself called La3
Live and La3 Sport.
La3 Sport shows original program-
ming as well as sporting showpieces
such as the FIFA 2006 World Cup,
followed by live matches from the
Serie A Italian football championship
and the UEFA Champions League.
La3 Live is a completely live
TV channel that lets viewers
know in real time what is
on air or what’s coming up.
Twenty “3jays” rotate dur-
ing the day, entertaining
and informing the public
with details of the day’s
programming.
The handsets are keep-
ing in step with the lat-
est digital breakthrough.
For example, LG’s new
LG-U900 DVB-H hand-
set features a 2.2-inch
wide-swing screen for
mobile TV viewing. Its
premium digital broad-
casting functions include ESG (Electronics Ser-
vice Guide) and CAS (Conditional Access System).
Users can watch TV for up to three hours because of
the phone’s long battery life. Samsung’s SGH-P910
handset comes with a wide screen design for better
viewing pleasure.
Mobile TV is increasingly spoken of as
the next vital application for the cell phone
industry that is keen to grow revenues
from sources other than voice and text
messages. Using the World Cup as a hook
to boost mobile TV services made a lot
of sense, given its potential to appeal to a
mass market.
DVB-H allows mobile users to receive
TV signals and traditional mobile signals at the same time,
meaning a handset can be used to watch a soccer match and
make a phone call; it can also be used while a viewer is walk-
ing down the street and in cars and trains. With DVB-H, a
broadcaster can transmit 20 or more interactive channels at
the same time.
The consumer appetite for mobile TV is expected to be
enormous and mobile phone networks are conducting DVB-H
trials in Spain, Germany, Britain, France, Singapore, Malaysia,
Australia, the United States and other countries. Independent
research organisation Datamonitor forecasts that in 2009, 90
million DVB-H phones will be shipped worldwide.
The arrival of DVB-Hmarks a significant milestone in a long
hi-tech journey. In 1991, broadcasters, consumer electronics
manufacturers and regulatory bodies came together to
discuss the formation of a group that would over-
see the development of digital television in Europe.
The DVB Project was born and DVB-H is the latest
product to emerge from the digital revolution.
Judging by the reaction of the Italian football
fans, mobile TV is going to be a big hit with
consumers.
As Mr Novari told the Italian media,
“Television is changing.The age of cell-phone
TV has begun, and I think this will
really change the history of TV.
In a few years, mobile TV will
become a mass product. I don’t
think it will remain a niche
market. According to some
cautious forecasts, in 2010
there will be 15 million sub-
scribers to mobile TV in It-
aly. This means that we will
go from zero to 15 million in
only four years. This is a very
big market, and I am sure of
its success.”
3 Italia’s launch
of DVB-H coincided
with the build up to
Italy’s successful
FIFAWorld Cup
campaign.