Kenyan cellular operator Safaricom has launched a mobile TV service with 13 channels using the DVB-H protocol, according to Kenya Broadcasting Corp. (KBC), which will be one of the channels. The service is available in Nairobi and Kenya’s second largest city, Mombasa, with other cities planned for the future, reports Bloomberg.
The service is provided through Digital Mobile Television Kenya (DMTV) — 25 percent owned by KBC — and will be free, although reports vary as to when the free period will end. Bloomberg says it will be free for a year, but KBC says it will last until April 2010.
After the free period, it will cost 1,000 Kenya shillings ($12.81) per month, says Bloomberg. DMTV hopes to sign up 1.3 million people — ten percent of Safaricom’s subscribers — within the year, Bloomberg says.
Nokia compatibility
Nokia cellular phones with integrated DVB-H receivers — the N96 and N77 — as well as Nokia phones that are compatible with Nokia’s Mobile TV Receiver SU-33W (see left) will work with the service, according to KBC. (Courtesy of Nokia, I have the N96 but, unfortunately, there is no DVB-H service in the United States.)
The two-ounce, battery-powered Mobile TV Receiver contains a tuner and an internal antenna and connects to handsets via Bluetooth. Compatible Nokia phones include the N79, N85, N86, N97, E75 and 5800 Xpress Music.
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