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What is the next big thing in cellular phone arena? Many in the wireless industry in Asia are betting that television service to the handset is the answer. In South Korea, both satellite and terrestrial digital broadcasting for mobile television are already available. In Japan, satellite digital broadcasting has been offered for some time, and terrestrial digital broadcasting was just launched in April 2006. In Taiwan, Nokia and Chunghwa Telecom are collaborating to kick off terrestrial digital broadcasting in the first half of 2006. To keep things interesting, each country has taken a different approach with regards to standards and protocols in supporting their digital broadcasting for mobile television services.
This Tech Perspective will outline the standards and protocols that are currently in play for the delivery of digital television broadcasting to cellular handsets and mobile terminals; summarize activity in the digital mobile television arena in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and China; provide some information on related developments in Europe and North America, to provide context; and supply some specifications and descriptions of handsets that have been introduced with the capability to receive and display digital mobile television.
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