Several analyst firms predict spectacular success for mobile video and TV. According to them, mobile television is not yet commercially available, because they define mobile TV as TV signals which are broadcast to all users at the same time, while today's streaming possibilities are delivered on demand (unicast). The survey from research group Informa says handset makers will sell around 130,000 TV phones in 2005, rising to 83.5 million in 2010.

Per Nordlöf, director, Product Strategy and Portfolio Management at Ericsson, says mobile TV is definitely commercially available: "It is a question of different techniques and, today, 3G offers great possibilities to watch mobile TV and video. All 3G handsets have a media-player, which is essential when watching moving pictures." He also says mobile TV is expected to succeed basically because TV is already such a well-known application: "Users are familiar with the concept of TV and its content, and see the benefits of using it in a new medium. There will be hardly any need for training," he says.

ABI Research predicts that mobile operators will not run mobile broadcast-video networks. Instead, operators will profit by providing "enhanced content," meaning users can buy ringtones, sports statistics, fan-club material and more – linked to the topic they might just have watched on TV – from them.

In April, at Milia – the leading global forum for interactive industries and digital entertainment – Ericsson presented all mobile TV’s possibilities. "The interactivity that mobile TV offers is now highly understood by both content providers and operators. Ericsson plays an important role here because we not only have a long track record of delivering all generations of mobile systems, but also have a solid one in streaming, one of the basic ingredients of 3G-based mobile TV," Nordlöf says.

Analyst firm IDC expects more than 30 million US wireless subscribers to be consuming commercial video/TV content and services by 2009. Expectations are high, especially among youth and young adults. But subscribers do not just need adapted handsets, but also to discover the video content and services available.

"Several operators throughout the world have launched mobile TV using their 3G network – this is what we call Mobile Triple Play: mobile telephony, mobile internet and mobile TV in a single device and a single network," Nordlöf says.