[opendtv] DMB group slates EC decision on mobile TV

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July 19, 2007

DMB group slates EC decision on mobile TV

By John Walko

LONDON -- Members of WorldDMB -- the organization which promotes the
adoption and implementation of Eureka 147 based technologies -- strongly
criticized, and said they "continue to be mystified" by, the European
Commission's unilateral support of DVB-H for mobile television in
Europe, apparently to the exclusion of all other mobile TV standards,
including those developed by European industry such as T-DMB.

On Wednesday (July 18), EC Commissioner Viviane Reding said European
governments and industry should encourage the implementation of DVB-H
for mobile TV reception, and she warned the Commission could mandate
DVB-H as a common standard.

The WorldDMB trade body stressed T-DMB is the world's most successful
mobile TV standard with millions of devices already in the market. It is
widely used in Korea, and is the only European technology for mobile TV
sanctioned by China's state regulator.

It added that Reding ignored the Commission's own expert device in
insisting on a single technology, and that her stance, rather than being
a positive for European companies and investments, "threatens jobs and
investments" in Europe.

The Commission, the group stressed, consulted with "all main industry
players" via the European Mobile Broadcasting Council (EMBC). It then
ignored the counsel of that group which advocated platform neutrality
for mobile TV in Europe.

It also ignored the advice of device manufacturers who say that the need
for only one technology is unnecessary.

Quentin Howard, President of WorldDMB, commented: "We, like most of the
industry, have always advocated a multi-standard approach including DMB
and DVB-H. Europe's citizens and economy will not benefit from EC
intervention that restricts technology and innovation."

WorldDMB members from across Europe including the U.K., Germany, Italy,
France, Denmark and Norway believe that mandating only DVB-H risks
isolating Europe when the huge Asian markets of China and Korea have
already adopted DMB for mobile TV.

Indeed, just two weeks ago, Italian public broadcaster RAI announced it
has opted for DMB instead of DVB-H for mobile television services.
Stefano Ciccotti, chief executive of network provider RaiWay said that a
national DVB-H network would have cost Euros 300 million. Extending the
existing DMB network in Italy would cost just Euros 8 million.

Leif Lonsmann, Director of Radio at Danish Radio, pointed out that
"mobile TV is not just for telecoms operators; many radio broadcasters
who already have spectrum and investment in digital radio infrastructure
are expanding their remit to include Mobile TV. Where does this fit into
Commissioner Reding's plan?"

One of the Commission's key requirements is that a mobile TV device
works seamlessly in all 27 EU States. However, Howard says:
"Interoperability is an ideal which has little to do with old fashioned
ideas about a single technology. One indisputable fact is that spectrum
is not available in every state for the DVB-H standard. But perhaps the
biggest challenge to interoperability will be the different encryption
standards selected by various EU states and telecoms operators."

The Commission, Howard warns, has not addressed these major barriers to
interoperability.

The WorldDMB group's response on Thursday (July 19) notes that DVB-H
would have to wait up to five years for spectrum to become available in
many countries, while T-DMB allows the majority of European states to
roll out mobile TV services immediately.

It adds interoperable silicon chips have already been developed so that
years before DVB-H spectrum is available in some states, receivers
capable of delivering DAB, T-DMB and DVB-H via one chip will be
available.

Anthony Sethill, CEO of digital radio and mobile TV chip specialist
Frontier Silicon, said that, while being standards agnostic, "we see
little benefit from Europe restricting itself to DVB-H. In many
countries where spectrum is at a premium, limiting mobile TV broadcasts
to just DVB-H will severely hamper its uptake and will weaken European
companies looking to compete in regions where other standards are
prevalent."

The WorldDAB group also queried the Commission's suggestion that DVB-H
could utilize spectrum in L-band and so bypass the need to wait for
spectrum to become available. It stressed access to L-band is an
essential part of the successful roll out of DAB/DAB+ and DMB services
in Europe. Using it as a "fall-back" for DVB-H could lead to
fragmentation of L-band and render it incompatible for use in Europe.
This would seriously damage the very interoperability the EU is keen to
promote.

It added that to "steal" L-band spectrum for DVB-H would undermine the
potential for free-to-air audio services using DAB based technology in
Europe and could permanently damage digital roll-out in many countries.

"It is astonishing, in a democracy, that Madame Reding would like to
mandate one technology over another for mobile TV in Europe. All of us
in the broadcasting industry know the different prerequisites in terms
of population, topography and spectrum availability requires different
technologies to be cost and spectrum efficient," commented Kenneth
Lundgren, Managing Director, Factum Electronics AB. T-DMB, the group
suggests, ticks all the Commission's boxes when it comes to mobile TV
broadcasting. It has been adopted by many countries in Europe and
beyond; spectrum is already available for immediate roll out; it is
already interoperable with other standards. Being a European technology,
developed from EU funding and ratified in ETSI standards, many high-tech
European companies and jobs have already been created to support T-DMB.
The Commission should explain its logic in excluding successful European
standards, such as DAB/DAB+/DMB from its list of recommended
technologies.

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