Despite an October 2006 kick-off advertising campaign estimated at 2.5 million pounds ($4.93 million), U.K. mobile virtual network operator Virgin Mobile has sold significantly fewer than 10,000 of its lone mobile TV-enabled phone, the Lobster 700TV (see left), according to sources contacted by The Guardian. Virgin Mobile isn't disclosing numbers but says mobile TV is in its infancy and sales are hampered by the lack of additional handsets.
Virgin Mobile says new mobile TV phones will be available this year. In addition, the company says it will offer new services, such as the ability to store programs on the phone to enable subscribers to watch when they aren't in the coverage area.
Other analysts say the reason for the poor sales is the lack of sufficient channels. Virgin Mobile's service, based on Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), offers five live, streaming channels: BBC1, ITV1, Channel 4 and E4 and ITN news.
Not too expensive
Given the newness and "premium" aspect of mobile TV, Virgin Mobile isn't charging premium prices. For most subscribers with a contract, the Lobster, manufactured by HTC, is free.
Prepaid customers pay 99 pounds ($195), a decrease from 199.99 pounds ($394). That's not a huge amount of money, assuming you're paid in pounds and not dollars! (I love traveling overseas, but the exchange rates are simply awful.)
The mobile TV programs are free for subscribers with contracts. For prepaid subscribers it's free for three months and then five pounds per month ($9.90).
Hoping for DVB-H spectrum
Other U.K. cellular operators would like to use DVB-H and offer more channels, but there isn't any available spectrum for the service.
The five licensed cellular operators, O2, Orange, T-Mobile, 3 and Vodafone, have established a consortium that hopes to obtain spectrum in 2008 as the result of a scheduled governmental review of spectrum allocations.
But a U.K. mobile TV allocation is still a hope, not a certainty.
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