Will BSkyB Go It Alone With Mobile TV?

UK operators are worried that BSkyB will launch its own mobile TV network, cutting them out of the equation, according to The Guardian. Mind you, any effort by BSkyB will be a lot more successful if done in partnership with the operators rather than competing with them, and it’s already got deals with three operators in the UK. Although it hasn’t made any final decision, it’s making some pretty encouraging noises about MediaFLO, which Qualcomm has got to be happy with.
“Earlier this month the UK’s five mobile networks wrote to regulator Ofcom to ask for approval to work together as a consortium in the construction and management of a single nationwide mobile TV broadcast network…They are pushing for the media and telecoms watchdog to free up part of the airwaves currently used by airport radar so they can run a service using a pared down version of existing TV broadcast technology within the next few years.”
Virgin Mobile has already launched the UK’s first broadcast mobile TV service. It uses part of the digital radio spectrum, but a lack of capacity means it only shows four channels and with just one handset on offer, take-up appears to have been modest.
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