mobileu.co.uk

Telecom leaders join for mobile TV trial

Britain's biggest mobile phone providers are joining forces to test a TV broadcast service that could allow people to stream television channels on their mobile phones.

O2, Orange and Vodafone have all signed up for the trial, which would see broadcast TV channeled through the 3G spectrum, avoiding interference with their networks that deal with access to the web and emails.

The three phone giants are also working with Ericson, IPWireless and Streamezzo on the three-month trial of the integrated mobile broadcast (IMB) technology, taking place in west London and Slough.

TV services are currently available to smartphone users via 3G networks, but they are prone to paralysis if more than a few people are all using the service in the same place. The IMB technology will use a disused part of the airwaves that has been dormant since the dying days of the dotcom boom.

Vodafone's head of technology research and development, Luke Ibbetson, said, "With the strong growth of data traffic on our 3G networks and the mobile industry's recent support of this high performance broadcast technology, the time is right to move forward with an IMB initiative."

He said they were looking forward to exploring the potential with their peers. The trial is due to start in October.