Focus shifts to TV in Barcelona: News from Informa Telecoms and Media

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Mobile TV, mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), mobile search and discovery and the roadmap to 4G will be some of the hottest themes at this year's 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, according to analysts Informa Telecoms and Media. '2005 was the year when music emerged as a driving force for the mobile industry and in 2006 we see that focus shifting to TV', says Mark Newman, Chief Research Officer at Informa Telecoms and Media. 'But while operators are reasonably clear about where they want to position themselves in the music value chain, mobile TV is a fuzzy picture that could take years to unscramble', continues Newman.

'Of the mobile broadcast TV solutions on offer, digital mobile broadcast (DMB) has stolen a march on the market and will be the technology of choice for the next couple of years in a number of markets worldwide', comments David McQueen, Principal Analyst, at Informa Telecoms and Media.

'Competing broadcast technologies DVB-H and Qualcomm MediaFLO solution may then be able to compete effectively, once complex issues such as regulation, capacity and spectrum planning have been overcome', continues McQueen.

Added to this mix are the cellular network TV offerings, which may prove to be a cost-effective alternative for the operators once faster data networks are rolled out and multicast solutions are implemented.

Indeed, this option may prove preferable for operators a Korean mobile operator has already voiced fears that mobile TV could erode future revenues from 3G.

Mobile entertainment in general is proving a tough nut to crack.

The slow growth in mobile entertainment revenues, exacerbated by the difficulties of forging strong relationships with content providers, is causing some operators to question whether they should be in the mobile entertainment business at all.

There is growing interest in mobile search and discovery as operators realise their interests may be best served by helping their customers find content they want rather than pushing specific content to them on their portal.

Nick Lane, Principal Analyst, Informa Telecoms and Media, explains: 'The massive growth of mobile content lying outside operator portals means consumers now need a way to find and make sense of it all this represents a huge opportunity for established search engines that already dominate the PC Internet experience'.

Companies like Yahoo, exhibiting at the show for the first time, and Google seem intent on replicating the success of their Internet pay-per-click advertising model on the mobile Internet.

Mobile location technology and application providers, meanwhile, are making a surprising comeback at 3GSM this year.

More than 150 million phones are in use today with embedded GPRS technology that gives the potential to use location as a context for services such as mobile search and discovery.

'Mobile location may now start to fulfil some of its early promise', says Newman.

The emergence of the MVNO model has taken the whole industry by surprise in the last 12-18 months and is having a significant impact on mobile markets in Europe and North America.

In Germany, Informa believes there could be as many as 50 MVNOs by the end of this year.

Many operators see the rise of MVNOs as an opportunity to secure new revenues by selling wholesale network capacity and retail strategies.

Although the MVNOs may extend operator reach, particularly into niche markets where they are not traditionally strong, they are also forcing them to review their underlying cost structures.

Despite all the excitement about new services and applications, it is worth remembering that 3GSM is first and foremost a wireless technology show.

As such, much of the exhibition will be devoted to HSDPA, a new, even higher speed version of 3G.

Vendors will also be giving their visions of a roadmap to 4G.

Gavin Patterson, Principal Analyst, Informa Telecoms and Media, explains: 'The arrival of HSDPA is an important milestone for the GSM community as, for the first time, it will make broadband Internet access a truly mobile experience'.

'Wi-Fi may have untethered the Internet, and helped to sell thousands of cups of coffee, but HSPA will make the Internet a completely mobile experience'.

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Focus shifts to TV in Barcelona

Mobile TV, mobile virtual network operators, mobile search and discovery and the roadmap to 4G will be some of the hottest themes at this year's 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona.