regulation business today
at the best of times, let alone today. regarding the development of mobile and was incandescent when they
The delay caused outrage in a TV, the European Commission (EC) has found out from Reuters that the EC’s
number of quarters and leading the simply acted as an anti-business levy was 14% tax on each handset.
hue and cry was US processor giant wrecking ball that could kill off an Speaking to Reuters at the time,
Qualcomm who had keenly anticipated industry in its infancy. Azzedine Boubguira, head of
the switchover as it would free up In December last year, news agency
So regulators
marketing at mobile TV chip maker
spectrum for it to boost coverage of its Reuters revealed that the EC had sent DiBcom, said: "It's crazy. This wouldare simply
MediaFLO mobile TV service - which member states a formal proposal to definitely be a [market] killer. No-one
not just law
had already been taken up by Verizon reclassify some handsets capable of will pick it up. No-one. We were
imple-
and AT&T but whose service footprint receiving mobile video services as thinking: will people be ready to pay
had been criticised for lack of breadth. ‘multi-functional devices’, with the
menters.
for the subscription, but now they are
In an interview with Dow Jones effect of making their manufacturers
They have
not being able to buy even the
Newswires, Qualcomm chief operating incur additional taxes. In a fit of
profound handset." Boubguira added that the
officer Len Lauer expressed the regulatory pique, the move came less move would also put off handsetpower to
company's fears about what the delay than two weeks after the EC had makers who have so far introduced
make and
could mean: "We are very much published a set of guidelines for the only a few models which can receive
break
opposed to the delay of the DTV authorisation of mobile TV in a bid TV broadcasts. “There won't be
transition...The delay will cost us tens towards the ‘promotion of competitive
markets and
demand, there won't be phones and
of millions of dollars in extra expense services’ across the EU.
broadcasting
there won't be the market," he added.
and lost revenue," he is reported to In this latter statement, the EC called The Commission, said Reuters, had putcompanies.
have said. Ramping up the pressure, upon the mobile TV industry to make the proposal forward in an attempt to
We have to
Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs wrote to sure that mobile TV services in every unify taxation across the 27-country
respect their
the US law makers asking for them to EU country work together after having bloc after Germany and Netherlands
commit to the original switchover endorsed DVB-H as the de facto
right to do
said they would introduce such
timetable or at least for it to be able to standard for mobile TV in the EU, a
their duty,
charges. It seems only to have unified
offer by 18 February mobile TV to the standard which the EC had part
but it’s also uproar in a notoriously disparate
cities of Boston, Houston, Miami and funded. However, throughout 2008 industry that is struggling to make thetheir duty to
San Francisco where it could expect to the European mobile TV market has first steps to profitability.
do right.
reap revenues. But to no avail. seen a proliferation of handsets So regulators are simply not just law
Only history will tell whether the US bearing (non EU funded) DVB-T- implementers. They have profound
made the right decision, but at least compatible receivers that allow users power to make and break markets and
the issue was debated thoroughly with to access free to air mobile TV unlike broadcasting companies. We have to
the intention, if not the result, of the subscription-oriented DVB-H. respect their right to do their duty, but
bringing prosperity to the industry. By Not surprisingly, the mobile TV it’s also their duty to do right. By
stark comparison, in its recent actions industry reacted angrily to the reports consumers and businesses alike.
www.ibeweb.com l march/april 2009 l ibe l 7
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