European Commission Backs Nokia’s DVB-H Mobile TV Standard

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European Commission Backs Nokia’s DVB-H Mobile TV Standard

5:08 am on July 19, 2007 | Category: Business, Wireless Technology, Telecom Services, Television, Wireless, Regulation

The European Commission officially endorsed the Nokia-backed DVB-H mobile video standard yesterday, in a move that could ultimately encourage growth in the emerging live mobile television market.

Many analysts have blamed the lack of a single wireless television standard for holding back the widespread adoption of live video services on cellular phones.

DVB-H “appears to be the strongest contender for future mobile TV deployment in Europe,” and is already the continent’s most popular wireless television standard, the EC announced on its website.

“The Commission therefore considers that DVB-H will form the basis for successful introduction and take-up of terrestrial mobile TV services in the EU,” the web statement read. “It will continue to monitor the situation in the EU and may come forward with proposals in 2008 including, if appropriate, making this open standard mandatory.”

This decision is a major blow to competing technologies, such as Qualcomm’s MediaFLO standard, which has been selected on a free-market basis by carriers in the United States and South Korea.