Economy
Nokia, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Antenna Hungária start mobile TV test in Hungary
The parties are conducting a Digital Video Broadcasting for Handheld (DVB-H) based mobile television test.
The service is in commercial use only in three countries in Europe. One of them is Italy, where the provider was pressed to introduce the service to please soccer fans already eying the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals to be held in South Africa in 2010. (Italy won the tournament four times, being the second most successful behind Brazil with five wins.) The monthly fee of the service is EUR 19 in Italy, which, according to János Winkler, Deputy CEO at Magyar Telekom, would be unrealistically high in Hungary. (Especially so if we take into consideration that DVB-H-ready handsets will not cost less than EUR 300-400.)
2008 will be a swell year for DVB-H not only in Hungary but also in the whole of Europe, Vodafone Deputy CEO László Podhorányi told a press conference, adding his company plans to launch the service in eight countries this year.
Antenna Hungária CEO Jean-Francois Fenech said the market was fully prepared for mobile tv. He noted demand was high enough, the infrastructure was operational and the service providers have also readied themselves to introduce the service, which will take place by end-2008. The only barrier that remains is the invitation of frequency tenders, Fenech said, but added that this problem was likely to be solved already in the first half of this year.
Róbert Ésik, managing director at Nokia Siemens Networks, said that while Nokia currently has only three DVB-H enabled handsets, researches show that by 2010 manufacturers will produce 80 million handsets with DVB-H receivers a year. He expects the number of DVB-H subscribers to exceed 500 million by 2011.
The Test
The test was first launched in spring 2007 by Antenna Hungária and T-Mobile. The current test is being carried out on a Nokia Siemens Networks platform, with Nokia handsets (N92 and N77) and will continue until the end of January.
In the technical part of the DVB-H-based mobile television test, the equipment of the platform provided by Nokia Siemens Networks is connected to the broadcasting network of Antenna Hungária and the networks of the mobile operators involved in the project.
The two handset models are suitable for the reception of programmes approved by the National Radio and Television Commission (ORTT) and the content providers. In comparison with an earlier test, more programmes are available this time, altogether 11 television channels, including news, sports and music channels. In addition to television programs, interactive services can also be tested in the trial.
In the “friendly user test" to follow the technical test, the selected 200 to 300 users can watch the television content, whereas in the meantime operators obtain valuable information on actual demands, expected consumption patterns and coverage conditions.
“The data obtained will help fine-tune the business model and identify the commercial services to be launched in the future," the parties said in a statement.
Through the test, Antenna Hungária intends to improve the technological solutions which will enable it to provide a DVB-H-based mobile tv network for Hungarian mobile operators.
The Nokia Siemens Networks DVB-H solution is used in commercial networks with VTC (Vietnam), Doordashan (India), Umobile (Malaysia), Smart & 360 Media (Philippines) and Digita (Finland). In addition, the company has DVB-H trials running on all continents.
T-Mobile Hungary is owned by Magyar Telekom, in which Deutsche Telekom holds a 59.2% stake. Antenna Hungaria is fully owned by French TDF.
The service is in commercial use only in three countries in Europe. One of them is Italy, where the provider was pressed to introduce the service to please soccer fans already eying the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals to be held in South Africa in 2010. (Italy won the tournament four times, being the second most successful behind Brazil with five wins.) The monthly fee of the service is EUR 19 in Italy, which, according to János Winkler, Deputy CEO at Magyar Telekom, would be unrealistically high in Hungary. (Especially so if we take into consideration that DVB-H-ready handsets will not cost less than EUR 300-400.)
2008 will be a swell year for DVB-H not only in Hungary but also in the whole of Europe, Vodafone Deputy CEO László Podhorányi told a press conference, adding his company plans to launch the service in eight countries this year.
Antenna Hungária CEO Jean-Francois Fenech said the market was fully prepared for mobile tv. He noted demand was high enough, the infrastructure was operational and the service providers have also readied themselves to introduce the service, which will take place by end-2008. The only barrier that remains is the invitation of frequency tenders, Fenech said, but added that this problem was likely to be solved already in the first half of this year.
Róbert Ésik, managing director at Nokia Siemens Networks, said that while Nokia currently has only three DVB-H enabled handsets, researches show that by 2010 manufacturers will produce 80 million handsets with DVB-H receivers a year. He expects the number of DVB-H subscribers to exceed 500 million by 2011.
The Test
The test was first launched in spring 2007 by Antenna Hungária and T-Mobile. The current test is being carried out on a Nokia Siemens Networks platform, with Nokia handsets (N92 and N77) and will continue until the end of January.
In the technical part of the DVB-H-based mobile television test, the equipment of the platform provided by Nokia Siemens Networks is connected to the broadcasting network of Antenna Hungária and the networks of the mobile operators involved in the project.
The two handset models are suitable for the reception of programmes approved by the National Radio and Television Commission (ORTT) and the content providers. In comparison with an earlier test, more programmes are available this time, altogether 11 television channels, including news, sports and music channels. In addition to television programs, interactive services can also be tested in the trial.
In the “friendly user test" to follow the technical test, the selected 200 to 300 users can watch the television content, whereas in the meantime operators obtain valuable information on actual demands, expected consumption patterns and coverage conditions.
“The data obtained will help fine-tune the business model and identify the commercial services to be launched in the future," the parties said in a statement.
Through the test, Antenna Hungária intends to improve the technological solutions which will enable it to provide a DVB-H-based mobile tv network for Hungarian mobile operators.
The Nokia Siemens Networks DVB-H solution is used in commercial networks with VTC (Vietnam), Doordashan (India), Umobile (Malaysia), Smart & 360 Media (Philippines) and Digita (Finland). In addition, the company has DVB-H trials running on all continents.
T-Mobile Hungary is owned by Magyar Telekom, in which Deutsche Telekom holds a 59.2% stake. Antenna Hungaria is fully owned by French TDF.
| Antenna Hungária |
Antenna Hungária focuses on national terrestrial TV and radio broadcasting and distribution, as well as satellite broadcasting and distribution. The company is the provider of national and regional terrestrial TV and radio broadcast and distribution services in Hungary, it runs digital television and radio trials (DVB-T, DAB, DVB-H) as well. |
| Nokia Siemens Networks |
Nokia Siemens Networks is a leading global enabler of communications services. The company provides a complete, well-balanced product portfolio of mobile and fixed network infrastructure solutions and addresses the growing demand for services with 20,000 service professionals worldwide.
Nokia Siemens Networks is one of the largest telecommunications infrastructure companies with operations in 150 countries. The company is headquartered in Espoo, Finland. |
| T-Mobile Hungary |
T-Mobile - part of the Magyar Telekom Group - is market leader in Hungary with more than 4.7 million subscribers.
The company was the first GSM operator in the world to launch the full fledged commercial MMS service and was also the first operator in Europe to offer the SMS based MobileBank application. In addition the company was the first operator in Hungary to offer WAP, GPRS and MobileOffice services, as well as to introduce 3G and HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) in Hungary. |
| Vodafone Hungary |
Vodafone Hungary has more than two million customers and is part of the worlds leading international mobile telecommunications Group, offering a wide range of voice and data communications. |
