Mobile TV- it’s an idea whose time has finally come. Our strategic partnership with Wipro on Mobile TV Broadcast, as discussed in the May 14th blog, is just the beginning of a lot of traction in this sphere, and opportunities are set to grow manifold.

The slow start so far, has been due to a variety of factors. Key among the hurdles were the very time consuming license granting for Mobile TV Broadcast / DVB-H, the lack of a clear business model, availability of affordable handset models, as well as a battle for broadcasting rights and competition among various technologies.

This is all set to change and the numbers point to a rosy future. Informa predicts that there will be more than 335 million broadcast mobile TV users worldwide by 2012 and that DVB-H will become dominant from 2009 onwards, reaching 182 million users by 2012. In fact, it is anticipated that the industry will overcome these challenges to become a EUR 7.8 billion ($10.39 billion) market globally by 2013.

Interestingly, the turning point is expected to be nothing less than the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa, and the one month of football frenzy that it will generate. More than 10 mobile television broadcasting networks are slated to start operations in Africa to meet this demand. Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Namibia have all already launched mobile TV broadcast services and other African countries are expected to follow suit. FIFA the world football’s governing body, has forecast a record TV audience in Africa, and for the first time, is itself offering live coverage specifically produced for mobile phones.

It’s an unmatched opportunity for operators around the globe and for us at Nokia Siemens Networks. As a market leader in commercial Mobile TV broadcast, our credentials are robust. We have more than 30 Mobile TV, over 85 IPTV,100 SMS, and 80 MMSc solution references, and 90 browsing and WAP references worldwide, and are better positioned than anyone else to ride the wave!