Mobile TV pilot kicks off in Finland - Oct 15, 2004

A joint coalition of Finnish broadcasters, telecom operators, network operators and device vendors are today kicking off a mobile TV pilot within the Helsinki metropolitan area, covering an area of approximately 150 square kilometers. Both indoor and outdoor coverage should be available within that area.

Although IPDC (IP Datacasting) can be used to deliver any kind of IP data - files, applications, information - only A/V streaming services are included in this pilot. The intention is to gather information about consumer interest for TV-like services for mobile devices and the consumers' willingness to pay for them.

The first phase starting now will be taken part by 120 friendly users who will access the services using the Nokia 7700 media terminal. The second phase will start on February 1, 2005. In that phase 500 regular consumers will use TV-like services and pay for them.

The IPDC/DVB-H concept has been met with great enthusiasm worldwide, and trials and pilots will be seen in many countries and run by numerous companies in 2005. For example, NTL announced at IBC that it is to link up with UK cellular operator O2 for a large scale commercial trial of DVB-H in Oxford. The Houston based Crown Castle has stated their intention to establish a nationwide DVB-H network in the United States. There are also plans to launch a trial network in Sydney, Australia in December 2004.