Mobile TV and the CONNECTIONS Europe Summit

Europe will be addressing Mobile TV, other applications and entertainment platforms at the CONNECTIONS Europe Summit.

DALLAS, Aug. 21 /PRNewswire/ — While Europe has adopted a standard for mobile TV, this move actually makes it more difficult for operators to reap the benefits of this service sector, according to a new white paper from Parks Associates.

The research firm released No Way to Regulate: Mobile TV in Europe for its upcoming CONNECTIONS(TM) Europe Summit. This event will take place on August 28-29 at the Kempinski Hotel Bristol Berlin and features panels and interactive discussions on advanced platforms and applications for entertainment, home networking, and communications.

This new white paper highlights the challenges European operators face as they develop and deploy mobile TV services. European regulators have adopted the DVB-H as a mobile TV standard for Europe, but the paper asserts that this approach means operators are limited in their spectrum options and often cannot leverage established network infrastructure.

“European governments had unqualified success when adopting the GSM standard in the eighties,” said John Barrett, Director of Research, Parks Associates. “Unfortunately that same approach will not work in the mobile TV space.”

The mobile TV space is important, according to Parks Associates, because its users, while small in number, are more likely to own and purchase a variety of consumer electronics, more likely to subscribe to pay TV services, and generally have a more favorable attitude toward technology.

“Mobile TV consumers have a positive attitude toward technology, and they will buy advanced products and services ahead of other consumers,” Barrett said. “Understanding this segment is important for companies designing and selling digital living technologies and services.”

CONNECTIONS(TM) Europe Summit will include two panels, “The Evolution of Video Devices” and “New Connectivity Applications: Entertainment, Control, Home Networking, and Communications,” focused on the new opportunities and obstacles for companies in digital entertainment. CONNECTIONS(TM) Europe Summit concludes on August 29 with a tour of the Fraunhofer Institute’s Exhibits at IFA 2008, hosted by Fraunhofer Heinrich-Hertz-Institute.

For more information on CONNECTIONS(TM) Europe, and to download No Way to Regulate: Mobile TV in Europe, visit connectionseurope.com or contact 972-490-1113, sales@parksassociates.com.

Source: Parks Associates