BT to bring television to a mobile phone near you

12 January 2006 18:46 GMT / By Stuart Miles

BT has moved one step closer to offering its customers television on the move via a mobile phone following the completion of its test pilot.

The service which is expected to be available by the end of the year, would be available to all operators in the UK uses DAB radio signals rather than 3G to transmit the information.

BT Movio - formerly known as BT Livetime, believes it has demonstrated clear consumer demand for broadcast digital TV and radio with 38% of users in the trail saying they would switch networks to use it.

The pilot - the largest of its kind undertaken in Europe - revealed that two-thirds of customers would be prepared to pay up to £8/month for the service on their current mobile network - £2 less that the current mobile TV offering from Vodafone.

Set for commercial launch later this year, the service is broadcast using the Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) network and is navigated via a DAB delivered electronic programme guide (EPG) on a mobile TV phone.

Over the past four months BT Movio, together Virgin Mobile, has been broadcasting digital TV and digital radio via a DAB-IP enabled smartphone to 1000 users in the M25 area.

Emma Lloyd said: “As the popularity of mobile TV grows, the UK will need a broadcast delivery mechanism. Delivered via the UK's only national commercial DAB network - available right now - BT Movio will be the first 'one to many' broadcast service to deliver live TV to UK mobile users”.

Full tags

Phones, Apps, Mobile phone TV, BT