MBMS was designed to eliminate the need for operators to introduce new hardware into their networks in order to provide mobile-TV and other mass-media services. With MBMS operators are able to use their existing infrastructure, architecture, protocol structures, and so forth. This has made it popular within the telecom industry, and the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is currently standardizing MBMS for both GSM and WCDMA networks; a process that will be frozen in June 2005. The MBMS standard is expected to be phased in by operators from 2006.

An important feature of MBMS is that it can be multiplexed with existing services on the same carrier. This will allow operators to offer the important 'mobile triple play' of voice data and TV over a common service and network infrastructure. MBMS can also be customized to allow different forms of content to be broadcast in different areas of the network. Furthermore, it is expected that MBMS will stimulate the development of new mobile mass-media services.

The main alternative to MBMS is a terrestrial technology called Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld (DVB-H). Although DVB-H would require entirely new networks to be built and additional receiver hardware to be installed in handsets, the technology may be more viable than MBMS in certain types of applications. For example, DVB-H's ability to support larger screen sizes may make it a better option for laptop or in-car TV viewing. Ericsson in fact foresees much interactivity between MBMS and DVB-H in building the mass-market for mobile TV, which is why its service layer platform will be able to support both technologies.