Mobile TV Trials and no Tribulations

Oxford2As Mobile TV fever continues to grip the nation (well, almost)  02 and  Arqiva are claiming a high level of consumer interest in a commercial mobile  broadcasting service in the UK, based on their Mobile TV trial taking place in Oxford.
Interim results from the trial, which began on 29 September, reveal that 83% of triallists are satisfied with the end-to-end service provided. 76% of triallists say that they would take up the service within 12 months.
The trial involves 375 triallists, all O2 customers, representing a wide range of demographics.  It uses DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting – Handheld) transmission technology to beam a signal to a specially adapted Nokia 7710 smartphone, fitted with a tiny digital TV receiver.
Triallists are choosing to access TV on their mobiles for an average of 23 minutes per session, with one or two sessions per day. Overall, triallists are viewing for an average of three hours per week. Demand for additional multi-media services, including digital radio, interactive services and live links to channel web-sites, is high, say 02 and Arqiva, with seven out of 10 triallists saying that they would like to have digital radio channels included in a commercial service.
“This trial is further illustration that we are moving from a verbal only to a verbal and visual world in mobile communications, and we are encouraged to see the trial results confirm this says O2 Chief Technology Officer, Dave Williams.  We already see a powerful trend amongst O2 customers to use a wide range of visual services such as video downloads and streaming, interactive games, various messaging services with live or streamed video, music including radio and a whole host of web portal services.
Arqiva and O2 expect to announce final results from the Oxford Mobile TV trial in the spring.
The publication of the interim results from the Oxford trial comes just a few days after BT  claimed a success for its own Mobile TV pilot, using an alternative transmission technology called DAB-IP (Digital Audio Broadcasting Internet Protocol).

BT Claims Pilot Success. Read

Mike Short, 02 Vice President of Research & Development talks about the Oxford trials. Read

Mobile TV – Who wants it? Read