BT Movio is a wholesale service being offered from October 1 by the UK carrier to mobile operators, giving them the ability to offer their client bases the ability to watch live television or listen to digital radio on their mobile handsets via Digital Audio Broadcasting. DAB is the only piece of broadcast spectrum currently available to mobile operators in the UK, and BT said that handsets will need a DAB chip to receive the service
BT has acquired the capacity and the platform to make a broadcast service available to mobile operators on a cost-effective basis, said Emma Lloyd, MD for BT Movio. She refused to disclose pricing for the wholesale service, or the costs of developing the service, which BT was trialing last year within the M25 area.
BT Movio’s first customer is Virgin Mobile, although BT said it is in negotiations with other operators. Virgin Mobile’s customers will be able to watch BBC One, ITV1, and E4, as well as 50 or so digital radio stations. According to Virgin Mobile MD, contract Virgin customers paying over 25 pounds ($46) per month will get the service free, along with a free Lobster 700 Mobile TV phone.
Pay-as-you-go customers will receive the service free for the first three months, after which it will cost them 5 pounds ($9.37) per month. The phone will cost them 199 pounds ($373).
Other features of BT Movio include an electronic program guide that listed up to seven days advanced content. Reminders can be set to view particular programs, and there is a Red Button that will allow users to interact with their programs, such as voting on Big Brother or purchasing music after listening to it on the radio.
Television to mobile phones is nothing new in the UK. Vodafone Group Plc and Orange SA already offer streaming TV services to handsets using content from the UK satellite broadcaster, British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc. Unlike BT’s offering, these services are streamed using 3G technology, while BT’s uses GPRS.
