HDTV Almanac - Mobile TV: Going Nowhere Fast

[alfredpoor]

In a press release, The Diffusion Group (TDG) announced its new report, “The Possibilities and Challenges for Mobile TV”. In the release, TDG states that mobile TV subscription services are forecast to double their subscriber base by 2013. This sounds exciting until you find out that this means increasing from 1.6 million this year to [...]

[url=http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/columns/2010/09/hdtv-almanac-mobile-tv-going-nowhere-fast.php]Read Column[/url]

[ccclvib]

I am reminded of the satellite telephone service, of which I had intimate experience. The cost and time involved with sending in excess of fifty satellites into orbit, moving them around and then providing all the equipment in multiple locations around the world with which to create the network - then sell some very expensive cell phones - was immense. The fact it came right on top of the explosion of regular cell phone use, which eliminated more than half the prospective buyers, meant satellite telephone service was relegated almost immediately to a niche market. An extremely expensive (due to the low number of users) niche market. They have proven their worth in many disaster situations (Hurricane Katrina for one), when all other forms of vocal communication have been knocked out, but as a large scale competitor to other vocal communication, it just didn't happen. A whole lot of companies lost a lot of money on what was, when it was originally formulated, a really good idea. Just took too long from idea to available.

Sounds to me like mobile TV is a similar, though not nearly as expensive, form of communication that got run over by an extension of the cell phone.

[alfredpoor]

I think you have it about right. Flexible beats dedicated just about every time.

Alfred