Vidiator’s vice president of technology, Peter Simpson, claimed that three things have happened over the last 18 months that mean mobile TV is ready to advance in Europe.
The first event is faster networks, with some networks able to deliver speeds of up to seven megabits per second. The second is flat rate data tariffs, which Simpson said has been a huge barrier to acceptance previously, and the last innovation is the advent of the Apple iPhone, which showed the public what mobile life really could be like.
He said: “These three areas are why we now have lift off in mobile TV. Yet there are still issues; not every network operator is fat and fast. Some operators are still deciding if they want to be content providers or fat pipes, run as smart pipes, getting more people onto the network and getting more money out of them.”
Simpson added: “Network operators are asking how can they make more money. Some are starting to understand that content is king, and it’s better to let the people that are good at content do it over their network, and in the meantime, work out how to monitise it. Putting good content over the network can help sell data plans, as 3 UK has done.
“The thing to remember is we’re still in a transitory stage, but the signs are there to show it’s starting to follow the online model, beginning with flat rate tariffs,” he added.
Simpson stated that the next two to five years will see a genuine mobile TV explosion in Europe as more networks move to HSPA+ and flat rate data plans become even more prevalent.