TU Media in world first for mobile TV test run

TU Media, which plans to start charging for the services in May, has included three TV stations, respectively providing news, music and drama, and six radio stations in its tests, and aims to increase this to 14 visual and 24 audio channels for its commercial package. Phones equipped to receive TV signals, offering superior quality to web-based broadcasts, have been tipped as the next killer application for the telecoms industry, but media experts in Korea remained cautious about the speed of uptake. Myung Hwan Oh, managing director of Carat Korea, noted that the high prices of handsets equipped with a TV aerial currently puts them out of reach of the young buyers who tend to lead new trends in technology. Nevertheless, Myung and other media observers anticipated a bright future for mobile TV. "It will be popular," said Minn Gyungsook, president of market research company TNS Media, which has been talking to TU Media about a possible ratings service measuring how many people watch TV on their handsets. Commercial use of digital mobile broadcasting is expected to remain within the technologically advanced Korean and Japanese markets for the next 12 months, but services are expected to start emerging in the more affluent Asia-Pacific markets such as Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore next year. Nokia is set to launch new technologies enabling consumers to receive television and radio broadcasts on their mobile phone handsets worldwide by 2006. Nokia already offers visual radio, allowing people to download visuals while listening on their phone, offering advertisers sponsorship opportunities, in Europe, and expects to launch in Singapore in the next six months. TV-enabled Nokia phones are targeted for global launch in 2006. This new technology differs from existing 3G technology, in that it has two aerials instead of one: the first allows for regular telephone connection and the second receives digital TV. This will also allow for interactivity by which viewers can receive documents, audio and video information on multiple channels. "The increased data transmission speed, better phones, and most importantly the degree of 'addiction' to TV will give it high potential here," said Mabel Leung, managing director of Starcom Hong Kong.