Free mobile TV will win subscribers

Mobile TV providers will need to offer free services to win subscribers and develop the market, an industry expert said this week.

Weijie Yun, president of Telegent Systems, a company that has already enabled free-to-air mobile TV on 20 million handsets around the world, said free services are key if mobile TV is to become a mainstream service.

Surveys by Telegent across global markets found that people around the world want to access free and familiar content, as if they were watching TV at home.

Yun said: “We believe that free-to-air broadcast TV is necessary for the widespread mobile TV adoption.

“Premium services obviously have a role to play but their introduction to the market is made much easier if a loyal audience is already in place.”

Telegent’s success has already proved that providing free mobile TV is possible without significant investment in new technologies by network operators.

Yun said: “The delivery of free-to-air broadcast mobile TV can be swift and cost effective.

“Operators will be able to harness the existing broadcast ecosystem by tapping into the terrestrial analogue and digital frequencies that are already out there.”