World Cup could kick off on your cellphone
For less than an estimated R400 a month, consumers would be able to watch live World Cup soccer games via their cellphones after the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) announced yesterday that it would issue two mobile television licences next year.
The government has made commitments to the local organising committee for the soccer World Cup that by 2010 there would be mobile TV.
However, the service is limited to major metropolitan areas Durban, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and their surrounding areas.
Icasa said mobile TV coverage would be extended during the migration from the analogue signal to the digital process, which will free up frequencies.
Not many companies are expected to apply for the licences as there are only three cellphone network operators (which will have to be partners), few licensed TV broadcasters (which will have to provide the content) and two broadcasting signal distributors to provide the signals.
Nolo Letele, the chief executive of MultiChoice SA, which has been testing mobile TV for the past two years with MTN and Vodacom, said yesterday MultiChoice was “pleased that Mobile TV broadcasting will be up and running by the 2010 World Cup”.
Apart from MultiChoice, David Moore, a media analyst at Africa Analysis, expects Telkom Media or On Digital Media (ODM) to apply. However, given Telkom Media’s current ownership troubles, “I’d consider ODM or possibly even one of the failed pay TV applicants as contenders”.
Telkom Media would not comment, while ODM was not available for comment.
Winning companies will use digital video broadcasting – handheld (DVB-H) standard for mobile TV rather than 3G technology.
Icasa said applicants must prove the ability to broadcast a minimum of 16 channels and have the capacity to source or produce content. Interested companies must also prove their financial viability and sustainability.
Companies would probably require a minimum of R500 million for the mobile TV project.
The major cost to the operators will be upgrading all the designated cellphone towers in the licensed area in order to transmit the DVB-H signal.
The other cost to the content provider will be reformatting content to be viewable on the tiny screens on cellphones.
“The important thing to remember is that DVB-H is a very new technology, only a few years old in terms of actual service provision. So even the big European operators are still finding their feet and refining their business models. South Africa will have to find its own way in this regard as there is very little outside experience to draw on,” Moore said.
He added that current mobile TV handset prices of more than R3 000 could hinder the take-up of the service by consumers.
In other European countries, such as Italy and France, the subscription prices are in the range of R60 to R100 per month.
“I’d expect the South African operators to start offering it at between R200 and R300 a month initially, which will come down as the service matures,” Moore said.
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