Today's mobile TV services are being launched using 3G technology based on a unicast architecture – where each user makes a request to view video. In Europe alone there are currently 19 operators offering 3G mobile TV services.

Over the next few years, operators will begin moving towards a multicast mode, where many users can link to a single broadcast signal. There are at least four
broadcast technologies for operators to consider: 3G Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS), Digital Video Broadcast Hand-held (DVB-H), Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) and MediaFlow.

Some countries have made a head start. In November 2005, mobile TV services were launched in South Korea using DMB, and the Finnish telecom regulator has already handed out DVB-H licences. Mobile TV is already available via 3G in Finland and MBMS will also be a viable standard for Finnish mobile operators to adopt. 

Per Nordlöf, head of Ericsson's mobile TV strategy, believes a fragmented market is inevitable when it comes to broadcast technologies. "We can see Mediaflow in the US and DVB-H in Europe," he says. "However, MBMS can potentially function wherever you have 3G, so it will be the only true global standard."

Unlike other standards, which require a completely new mobile TV-broadcast network, MBMS can be built on to existing 3G networks. As Nordlöf says: "Operators can use the same business model and, as they own the spectrum, they – rather than telecom regulators or broadcasters – are in control."

Critics, however, say MBMS is restricted in its capacity. While 3G can ably support unicast services, such as video on demand, they conclude that MBMS will falter when broadcast-standard technology arrives. Pekka Pesari, from TeliaSonera Finland, favors DVB-H. In an EE Times Online article (December 2005), he said: "For streaming live TV picked from a package of 20 to 40 TV channels, MBMS is not the right technology because of its service provisioning limitations."

However, Ericsson's Mikael Bäck, vice president of WCDMA Radio Networks, responds by assuring operators that there is still ample unused space in 3G networks. "The capacity and spectrum in WCDMA networks has room for more usage, such as mobile TV services," he says. "We want operators to have a convenient track – sticking to the 3G network and building MBMS on top of it – rather than adding a totally new broadcast network."

In 2006, Ericsson will upgrade many 3G networks with HSDPA – the high-speed variant of 3G. According to Nordlöf, this is the first step to increasing capacity before the anticipated start of adding MBMS in 2007. "We need to dispel the myth that capacity will not be enough," he says. "We need to change that perception because it's not a reality."   

The introduction of broadcast-standard mobile TV technology is bringing industrial politics into play, with vendors, handset suppliers and telecom regulators vying for their own interests. Meanwhile, operators are caught in the middle and, as Nordlöf says, are hesitating over which standard to choose and when to introduce broadcast capabilities.  

"Operators want to be sure that there really is a market before making a major investment," he says. "But they should start launching mobile TV services now, using 3G technology, to gain experience. It's about offering good services, price sensitivity and learning what users are interested in."

Nordlöf adds that there will be few DVB-H and Mediaflow networks in real commercial operation by 2006. They are expected to grow in number in 2007, as MBMS is being implemented. He predicts that 2008 will be the year when significant volumes of broadcast technologies and compatible handsets will be seen. Meanwhile, operators have decisions to make.