Shanghai. May 20. INTERFAX-CHINA - China's three telecom operators are accelerating their plans to roll out mobile TV services in order to gain ground in the forthcoming 3G era, with China Mobile the favorite to win among both analysts and consumers.
Although the 3G networks deployed by operators have the potential to provide streaming TV services, all three operators plan to rely mainly on the China-developed China Multimedia Mobile Broadcasting (CMMB) mobile TV standard to deliver their mobile TV services to both their 2G and 3G customers.
"All three telecom operators are accelerating their mobile TV businesses, but China Mobile still has the biggest chance of dominating the market," Michael Chang, an industry analyst with market research firm In-Stat, said.
According to Chang, the government's preference for TD-SCDMA as a 3G standard and CMMB as a mobile TV standard will drive China Mobile's mobile TV business. "It is the Chinese government's wish to develop CMMB mobile TV. At present, only TD-SCDMA+CMMB mobile phones can obtain network access licenses from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), which gives China Mobile a head start in CMMB mobile TV operation," Chang said.
On May 19, China Mobile became the first telecom operator to sign a deal with China Satellite Mobile Broadcasting Co. Ltd. (CSMB), the national operator of CMMB, allowing China Mobile's CMMB-enabled handsets to access the CMMB network, according to Shen Hongbin, general manager of TiMi Technology Co. Ltd., a chip manufacturer and the developer of CMMB.
As well as reaching a deal with CSMB allowing their handsets to include CMMB functionality, telecom operators will also need to reach deals with local CMMB network operators to give their customers access to CMMB. Again, China Mobile is ahead in this respect, having already sealed a deal with Shenzhen Media Group, one of the largest media groups in China and the exclusive CMMB operator in Shenzhen City in Guangdong Province, on May 14.
The deal goes beyond the basic provision of CMMB services, with Shenzhen Media Group and China Mobile working together to combine mobile phone, broadband Internet, wireless Internet and digital TV services. In addition, the two parties will also develop mobile newspaper and value-added services to be delivered through China Mobile's 3G TD-SCDMA network, according to Zhang Chunlang, director of Shenzhen Media Group's general office.
"It is the first time a Chinese telecom operator has cooperated with a media group over 3G-based new media," Zhang said.
In another deal, China Mobile and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) are in talks over jointly launching netbooks with TD-SCDMA and CMMB technology, the first batch of which will be released between July and September this year, a source at China Mobile told Interfax on May 20.
Despite the lack of CMMB handsets capable of accessing their 3G networks, China Telecom and China Unicom are preparing to offer CMMB access to both their 2G and 3G customers.
On May 17, China Unicom began its mobile TV trial based on CMMB. The trial will end in October, from when the telecom carrier will start charging users subscription fees.
According to a China Unicom customer service representative, China Unicom's mobile TV service will be offered via both CMMB and its 3G WCDMA network. Besides the broadcasting of TV channels, the service will also allow users to download videos and access video-on-demand (VOD) programs.
Since the beginning of this year, China Telecom has launched partnerships with a number of content providers for its mobile TV services offered via its 3G CDMA network. Its first 3G mobile TV channel was launched on May 17 in partnership with Youku.com, domestic industry portal NetEase reported on May 18.
In addition, China Telecom is negotiating CMMB access for its terminals with CSMB, Interfax was previously told by Meng Fei, general manager of CSMB's CMMB mobile TV terminal department.
However, China Mobile is still the winning tip among analysts in the mobile TV stakes.
"Chinese mobile phone users favor China Mobile's 3G services, which will serve as another driver for the operator's mobile TV business," Chang said.
According to a survey by Chinese industry portal Sina on May 17, 75.6 percent of participants said they were aware of the 3G TD-SCDMA standard and favored it over WCDMA and CDMA2000.
Interfax commentary: Although China Mobile is making advances in the provision of CMMB mobile TV, China Unicom should not be discounted as a serious mobile TV provider due to its WCDMA network, which is technically superior to China Mobile's TD-SCDMA network. As such, China Unicom actually is competitive in providing streaming mobile TV services running over its 3G network. However, the government's stance, which favors the TD-SCDMA and CMMB standards, adds an element of uncertainty to China Unicom's chances in the mobile TV field.
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