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Home = > News Analysis = > MOBILE=20 TV A GROWING TURN OFF

12 February, 2008 = 00:02

=20

MOBILE TV A GROWING TURN OFF

by Keith Dyer, from Mobile World Congress, = Barcelona

The=20 number of people turning off mobile TV is, in percentage terms, = outstripping the=20 growth of the total mobile TV market, research from M:Metrics, = commissioned by=20 Tellabs, suggests.
M:Metrics reckoned that the growth in audience for = mobile=20 TV, over a three month average from January 2007 to November 2007 was on = average=20 36%. But it also found that the number of ex-users was growing at an = average of=20 68% across the five markets surveyed (US, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain,=20 France).
Disenchanted mobile TV watchers seemed to be most prevalent = in=20 Spain, Germany and France, where there were 159%, 74% and 147% average = growth in=20 ex-users. Italy was showing the lowest churn at 37%, with the US at 49% = and the=20 UK at 55%.
Yet overall all user growth was also highest in France = and=20 Germany, suggesting that although customers are attracted to the = proposition,=20 the service experience is turning them off. The USA bucked this trend, = showing=20 high overall growth as well as lower churn. Italy and the UK showed both = lower=20 levels of growth and churn, suggesting a certain maturity in the market = =E2=80=93=20 certainly in Italy=E2=80=99s case. Spain meanwhile showed by far the = lowest growth, as=20 well as fairly high churn.
So what=E2=80=99s the cause of this = apparent=20 dissatisfaction with mobile TV =E2=80=93 and remember this is almost = entirely streaming=20 3G video services in question here, not broadcast mobile TV services? = Tellabs=E2=80=99=20 Jeremey Steventon-Barnes said that after price, the biggest issue that = users=20 quoted was quality and reliability. Across the five markets anywhere = from 22% to=20 30% of users reckoned quality was the reason for turning off.
And=20 Steventon-Barnes puts that down to the performance crunch in the = backhaul=20 network, which is taxed by the high bandwidth required by streaming = video.
He=20 also said that the solving these issues could add $270 million to = operators top=20 line across these markets.
Tellabs calculated that if you assumed the = market=20 retrieved a potential 932,000 ex-users, plus an additional 3,151,000 = first time=20 viewers currently held back by the same issues, it is possible that if = even half=20 those subscribed for a year with an average monthly fee of $11.30, this = alone=20 would result in an 54% increase in audience and an estimated $270 = million extra=20 in revenue.
Of course, Tellabs has a declared interest in convincing=20 operators of the business case benefits of investing in backhaul, but=20 Steventon-Barnes said that although other issues were relevant, such as = handset=20 and back office software issues, the backhaul was a critical component = in this=20 perception of poor quality and reliability.
=E2=80=9CMobile TV = services are really=20 amongst the most demanding applications amongst data services today, and = the key=20 issue for mobile data services today is still in the backhaul = network. =20 Ensuring quality and reliability across the network and between cell = sites and=20 the core of the network is key. Most operators are limited not just in=20 bandwidth, but in their ability to be able to differentiate the quality = of=20 service they can offer video traffic, against web browsing, for = instance,=E2=80=9D=20 Steventon-Barnes said.
=E2=80=9CWe believe of operators can get = quality and=20 reliability right for mobile TV, then not only will that market open up = but the=20 whole mobile data market will be opened up as well,=E2=80=9D he = added.
Tellabs is not=20 the only supplier preaching this message, of course. Switch providers = such as=20 Nortel and Juniper, as well as dedicated backhaul players such as RAD = Data=20 Communications, Celtro and Axerra all make similar points. But Tellabs = is hoping=20 that by emphasising the business impact of a poor quality user = experience, it=20 can drive home the impact of potential lost revenues to = operators.

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