Barcelona, Spain/Espoo, Finland - Today, Abertis Telecom, Nokia and Telefónica Móviles unveiled the results of the first digital mobile TV (DVB-H) pilot in Spain at the 3GSM World Congress. Highlights from the markets study include the fact that 75% of users would recommend the service while 55% would be willing to pay to watch digital TV on their mobile phones.

 

The pilot, the first of its kind in Spain, involving 500 users in Madrid and Barcelona, indicated that by mid-2006 DVB-H would be fully standardised and that by the end of this year the technology will be sufficiently developed to launch commercial services.

 

The aim of the market study was to assess interest within the residential segment in digital mobile TV, user habits, user-friendliness, coverage, quality and content. The results of the study clearly point to a viable commercial launch of the service in the future, confirming that customers are looking for TV on their mobile phone and not a portable TV.

 

In addition, 55% of the users testing digital TV with a Nokia 7710 smartphone said they would continue to use the service even if they had to pay for it. They would be willing to pay up to around 5 euros for a multi-channel package, made up of a basic package plus a premium channel. Nearly 75% said they would recommend the service.

 

Other highlights of the market research include average daily viewing of 16 minutes. 71% of users said they had watched digital TV on their mobile phones for 15-20 minutes a day, and 17% for over 25 minutes.

 

Where did they watch it? In most cases (over 48%) at home, as in many instances they had access to more channels on their phone than their own TV. Many also watched it one their way to and from work and during rest or lunch breaks.

 

An important part of the market study dealt with audiences and content packages. Unlike on conventional TV, where there is a well-defined prime time, with DVB-H mobile TV services, viewing is spread out throughout the day, with most viewers tunes in at the end of the work day - between 7:00pm and 8:00pm.

 

The variety of content available during the pilot surprised users. 58% said they wanted specific, interactive content adapted to shorter viewing times. Content most viewed during the trial included news, series and music programs, in that order. The high incidence of music viewing was notable: TV-enabled mobile phones were used as a music device.

 

Based on the results and conclusions of the pilot, Abertis, Nokia and Telefónica Móviles will carry out a series of advanced interactivity demonstrations during the 3GSM World Congress in which users can vote, e.g. for the favourite songs. The demonstrations will be carried out using the Nokia N92 handset, which is optimised for mobile TV viewing, running a specific application developed and provided by Finnish company, RedLynx.

 

 

The digital mobile TV pilot also tested the DVB-H network coverage and topology for various locations, such as indoor and outdoor reception, above-ground, etc.  One of the main conclusions was that the number of broadcasters/receivers should be much higher for a commercial mobile digital mobile TV network than available in the current DTT (digital terrestrial TV) network, particularly to provide coverage inside automobiles and buildings.

 

For users, the technical pilot indicated that the technology used to distribute TV content should be transparent. DVB-H represents the most realistic broadcast-to-mobile scenario at present, as it looks set to be fully standardised by mid-2006, paving the way for interoperability solutions from the first quarter of 2007 which will in turn enable the commercial launch of these services.

 

The path to commercial launch will be easier if the Spanish government designs specific DVB-H regulation catering to the needs of all agents involved, supporting the development of an innovative and value added service for Spaniards.

 

Abertis Telecom, through its companies Tradia and Retevision, is the leading telecommunications infrastructure and services group in Spain. The pilot test underscores its capacity for innovation and leadership in Europe in providing cutting edge broadcasting services. Abertis Telecom's services include analogue/digital radio and TV broadcasting, mobile radio communications for security and emergency forces and telecommunications services for phone operators.

 

Nokia is the world leader in mobile communications and a driver of the growth and sustainability of the broader wireless industry. Nokia connects people and provides them with access to the information they want, offering easy-to-use and innovative products, such as mobile phones, devices and solutions for imaging, games, media and businesses. It also provides equipment, solutions and services for mobile network operators and companies.  

 

Telefónica Móviles is the first Spanish operator to carry out a pilot of this type, once again putting it at the technological forefront in a highly competitive market. Service innovation is a cornerstone of the company's strategy. Telefónica Móviles España, which has nearly 20 million customers, added the first video services to its emoción mobile portal in 2003 and in March 2005 launched the first TV service designed exclusively for mobile phones.

 

DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast Handheld) technology is the version of DVB-T (digital terrestrial television) adapted for mobile devices. It is a standard offered by the DVB Project for broadcasting TV and data content to handheld devices such as mobile phones, which have very specific requirements, such as low battery consumption, screen size and mobility.

 

 

abertis telecom

Communications

Tel. +34 93 230 50 84 / +34 91 310 70 45

E-mail: Abertis.comunicacion@abertis.com

 

Telefónica Móviles

Tel. +34 680 01 86 00

E-mail: prensa@tsm.es

 

Nokia, Multimedia

Communications

Tel. +358 7180  45782

 

www.nokia.com