Telecom-TV race underway
MultiChoice and affiliate MNet will be among the first in the world to test a new technology to deliver digital television to specially adapted phones.
It is called handheld digital video broadcasting (DVB-H), and is so new that no handsets are commercially available yet.
More than 100 companies are working on DVB-H devices and services, and Nokia is supplying prototype cellphones housing a built-in receiver for the MultiChoice trials.
Hopefully the tests will provide a good indication of whether people actually want to watch television on their handset, says Linda Vermaas, head of a new division created for the project.
"Companies are trying to get an understanding of the possible take-up and how the market will react. This has not been launched anywhere in the world yet, so there are no proven business models or benchmarks," she says.
The move poses a direct threat to Vodacom, which pioneered SA’s first television-to-cellphone service in December.
In another twist, Telkom will begin trials to take television to the home over its high-speed internet lines in July.
The skirmishes are a stark example of how new technologies are making adversaries out of telecommunications and broadcasting players that once had no interest in each other’s turf.
If its new service proves popular, MultiChoice will need to build a completely new network because DVB-H is a terrestrial technology, and the company currently transmits via satellite.
So why bother? "We are experts in broadcasting and this is a groundbreaking new platform for TV content worth exploring," Vermaas says.
She says MultiChoice has not decided how successful it must be to justify a DVB-H investment.
The difference between that technology and the third-generation (3G) cellular system used by Vodacom partly lies in capacity.
Since 3G delivers one-to-one transmissions, the network will eventually be strained when too many people simultaneously access bandwidth-greedy applications such as television or video streaming.
On the plus side, 3G is interactive so users can request different shows, vote on live shows or pause the show to answer a call.
DVB-H is a one-to-many broadcast, so there is no degradation in quality no matter how many viewers it has.
But there is no interaction, so people will get what MultiChoice decides to give them.
Vermaas expects both MultiChoice and Vodacom to be successful. "I think both technologies will find their market. Young consumers will be particularly interested in TV content on their phone," she says.
Vodacom believes the promise of being able to watch some of the world’s most popular channels at any time, anywhere, just has to be a hit. "It’s incredible that the world’s best information channels are available on your handset," says a spokesman.
Vodacom is coy about its figures, but logged 126000 minutes of viewing time in the first month of its launch.
Users pay R10 a day for as much television as they like, with a January 31 cut-off date for that discount price quietly slipping by.
So far its channels include Fashion TV, Sky News, Fox and Yebo Entertainment. Users need a Vodafone Live 3G handset, and the high-speed network is available only in urban areas.
Neither Vodacom nor MultiChoice is deterred by a prediction from Deloitte analysts that mobile television will not become a hot new niche.
Although it is being promoted as the next big thing, with tens of millions of marketing dollars thrown at it, customers are not excited, says Danie Crowther of Deloitte SA.
"While the technology, telecom and media/entertainment industries are certainly converging, there will be some big winners and some big losers – and some that gain acceptance at a slower rate than their initial hype forecast," he says.
Presumably Vodacom’s more circumspect rivals, MTN and Cell C, share those doubts and have yet to jump on the gimmick.
Meanwhile, Telkom will explore the world of television by testing the technical and commercial viability of delivering programmes over its high-speed ADSL lines, which 12,0000 customers use to access the internet.
Telkom’s triple-play trial – referring to the combination of voice, high-speed internet and television over a single network – will run for up to six months with 300 customers.
Viewers will be able to vote during live television shows by using a remote control button, can pause, rewind or fast-forward "live" broadcasts, and access games, music and educational content.
Although television over a phone line is showing international success, Telkom still needs to establish how South Africans will respond, says spokeswoman Lulu Letlape.
Telkom’s trials could lead to a commercial roll-out within 12 to 18 months if consumers and the Telkom network prove ready for the revolution.
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