MediaCorp heads mobile TV trial with telcos

Singapore - MediaCorp is partnering with M1, SingTel, and StarHub to conduct a consumer mobile TV trial using Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld (DVB-H) technology next month.

Some 300 customers of the three telco giants are expected to participate in the 3-month trial which will include content from StarHub's Football Channel, and SingTel mio TV's Mei Ah Movies Channel among other things. The Beijing Olympics will also be covered.

"Mobile TV is a relatively recent concept now that newer wireless technologies are able to deliver high quality transmissions. The DVB-H platform is one of the major platforms designed to optimise the delivery of broadcast content over mobile devices, and this trial is designed to gather feedback on user acceptance and interest in mobileTV viewing," Terry Clontz, CEO for StarHub, said.

MediaCorp CEO, Lucas Chow added, "MediaCorp pioneered DVB-H consumer trials in Singapore some 4 years ago. From our past experience, the availability of handsets is paramount to the service taking off. I am happy that our efforts to have all 3 Singapore telcos onboard the trial will offer better quality and a wider choice of services to our customers and, at the same time, allow us to explore viable business models."

Participants of the trial will be using the Samsung P-960 handsets. Alcatel-Lucent and Gemalto are technology partners in this trial.