Nokia sees new mobile TV networks by mid-2006

BARCELONA - Mobile phone giant Nokia expects mobile TV networks using its chosen standard to be up and running by the middle of next year, allowing people to watch live TV broadcasts on their cellphones.

The system - Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H) - is being tested in about 40 pilots worldwide and Nokia's Anssi Vanjoki said yesterday he expects networks to go live in the first half of 2006.

"This is, of course, speculative because there are certain regulatory elements as well," Vanjoki, general manager of Nokia's Multimedia division, told a conference in Spain.

Nokia said it would make the technology a regular feature on its multimedia mobiles, allowing users to watch broadcasters' programs directly rather than rebroadcast by telecom firms.

Mobile operators and broadcasters are hoping flat-rate TV services or pay-per-view broadcasts will bring in revenue from people who cannot bear to miss a goal or the latest episode of their favorite soap opera while out and about.

Many mobile firms have offered subscribers selected TV programs through existing third-generation (3G) networks, but analysts say regulating TV broadcasts direct to mobiles and agreements on licensing rights are likely to take time before becoming widespread.

One of the targets in sight for mobile operators is the soccer World Cup, which start in Germany next June.

Korea already has mobile TV broadcasts using a rival technology developed there, Digital Media Broadcast (DMB), which has been offered on handsets from Samsung Electronics, the third-placed handset maker.

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Vanjoki expected Switzerland, Indonesia, Thailand, Germany and Russia to be among the first to set up mobile TV networks using DVB-H.

Nokia earlier launched the N92 handset, intended for mobile TV broadcasts, and which is expected to go onto the shelves next year.

Nokia, also said yesterday it expected the market for smartphones to double next year, and launched three new premium models it hopes will take advantage of that growth.

"I am comfortable in saying that we expect the market for convergence devices like smartphones to double to 100 million units in 2006," Chief Executive Jorma Ollila told the conference.

Nokia announced three new models - two new multimedia phones and one able to receive mobile TV broadcasts - to be part of its upmarket N-series that includes phones with high-quality cameras and expanded music players.

The N71 will allow users to browse the Web and play music, as well as store extra information and songs with memory cards.

Nokia's Multimedia division general manager Anssi Vanjoki told the Barcelona conference the N71 would be a "true internet device", with a sizeable screen, 3G technology and ability to use wireless broadband.

The Finnish mobile giant also announced a new Web browser for its smartphones, handsets which are mainly aimed at business users and offer limited PC-type functions such as email.

"With this Nokia N71, we are bringing to the consumer ... a completely new way of browsing the Web," Vanjoki told Nokia's annual Mobility Conference. The phone is expected to reach the market in the first quarter of next year, at a price of about 400 euros ($700) before taxes and subsidies.

The N80 phone allows users to share videos and photos through their television sets and play music on their home stereo systems.

It is equipped with third-generation mobile technology and offers WLAN broadband connections, allowing internet access through "hot spots" in airports and cafes using the short-range wireless technology common in laptop computers.

The N80 is expected to retail for about 500 euros before taxes and subsidies when it goes onto the market in the first quarter of 2006.

The third in the new trio is the N92, a mobile TV with a 2.8 inch (7.1 cm) screen, able to use DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld) technology to pick up broadcasts direct from TV masts, not through mobile operators.

Nokia officials said it would be available to consumers next year at a price of about 600 euros before taxes and operator subsidies.

- REUTERS