Are you itching to watch Top Gear live on the way to work, or Supermarket Sweep while queuing for the checkout? Mobile phone operators are betting millions of pounds that you are. Last week Orange, O2 and Vodafone announced a mobile TV service that will beam dozens of live channels to your phone, and promised to have it broadcasting nationwide as early as next year.
If you think that sounds like something you’ve heard before, you’re right. In 2005 O2 and Orange tested a mobile version of Freeview, and in 2006 BT and Virgin Mobile experimented with piggy-backing TV on digital radio signals. Both systems failed in the face of technical hiccups and consumer apathy.
This time around, conditions have changed. Smartphones are becoming more powerful, their owners are accustomed to using them to play games and watch films on the move and a new broadcast technology has been developed. Called integrated mobile broadcast (IMB), it will be tested in central London and Slough, Berkshire, from October. The networks claim it will allow the simultaneous broadcast of more than 20 TV channels without the stuttering and blackouts that plague mobile video today.
The problem with mobile TV services is that they have to share the cluttered 3G networks. These already carry emails, streamed music, smartphone apps, map downloads and millions of YouTube clips of skateboarding cats.
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When, say, a TVCatchup user “tunes in” to a channel, a huge streaming video file has to be sent directly to the user’s phone. Only because it is little used does TVCatchup work acceptably well: it would take only a handful of people in the same pub or train to start using it for the local transmitters to become congested and for the streaming to be interrupted.
People are using their mobiles the same way they use their broadband at home today — and that is not to watch live TV IMB solves the congestion problem. The solution lies in shifting much of the signal to an underused portion of the 3G spectrum — for which mobile phone companies paid billions at the turn of the millennium.
Although the frequencies have proved useless for voice calls or web surfing, researchers at Orange realised they would be perfect for mobile TV broadcasts.
“We first tried the technology two years ago,” says Alain Maloberti, group vice-president of networks at Orange. “IMB is already part of the 3G standard, so it can combine very easily and very well with today’s mobile technology. It requires only a relatively small upgrade of the network.”
If only consumers could be upgraded as easily. Survey after survey has found that only about a third of us have any interest in mobile television — and then only if it is free (an unlikely scenario, given the huge sums mobile phone companies are investing).
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“I don’t think anyone is going to watch a football match on the street while they’re doing the shopping,” says Mark Newman, head of telecoms and media research at Informa, a research company. “People are using their mobiles the same way they use their broadband connection at home today — and that is not to watch live TV.”
One reason could be the viewing experience. The 2in or 3in screens found on most handsets shrink faces to fingernail-sized blobs and make it difficult to follow sporting events. IMB won’t help with this.
Although the new system could provide video that looks impressive on even, say, an Apple iPad, the networks are keeping the quality low so that users won’t notice if they are kicked back to an old-fashioned 3G connection. “It is seamless for the user,” says Maloberti. “The user does not know if the TV he or she is watching is coming from the broadcast on IMB or streaming on the regular 3G network.”
Another problem is that IMB will require phones with a particular chip, now available in only a couple of LG handsets. “The history of mobile phones suggests any service supported only by a limited number of mobile phones doesn’t tend to be too successful,” says Newman.
Nonetheless, the networks are taking the gamble that handset manufacturers will install the necessary hardware. ABI, a technology research firm, predicts that mobile TV will start to take off in 2012 and become a £15 billion business by 2015. That could be a problem for the BBC. To watch BBC shows on a mobile, you simply have to click on an agreement that you are a licence payer. If millions start watching TV on the move it could be a threat to the corporation’s funding.
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Even if IMB fails to incite a mobile TV revolution, it could bring indirect benefits. Shifting some of that streaming video to spacious new IMB frequencies will free bandwidth for stuff that people want to see. YouTube clips of skateboarding cats, for instance.
Mobile TV today
There are dozens of apps and mobile websites to let you view short news, sports and entertainment clips (you might have heard of a little site called YouTube) but only a handful of ways to watch live TV. Beware: all suffer their fair share of juddery, poorly pixelated footage. Use a wi-fi connection for best results.
Sky
The Sky Mobile TV News and Sports app for the iPad gives live access to streams of four channels (Sky Sports 1 and 2, Sky Sports News and Sky News). You’ll need a good wi-fi connection for best results (almost broadcast quality), but the app struggles bravely to cope with slower connections. It costs £35 a month, or £6 a month for Sky subscribers. A similar app for the iPhone offers even more channels and costs £6 a month for everyone. sky.com
BBC
Its on-demand iPlayer may get all the headlines, but the BBC also provides decent live streams of its eight TV channels for mobile devices, although only over wi-fi. The service doesn’t work on iPhones or Google’s G1 handset, however, and remember that, strictly speaking, you need a TV licence to tune in. bbc.co.uk/mobile/live/tv
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ITV
ITV is experimenting with live streaming during the World Cup. Either point your phone’s browser at the ITV website a few minutes before kick-off or download the free ITV1 2010 Fifa World Cup app from iTunes. Either way, keep a back-up viewing plan handy — some users have reported problems with the streams. itv.com
TVCatchup
Despite its name, TVCatchup is all about live streaming broadcasts. Think of it as a virtual Freeview box: there are more than 50 channels to choose from, including optimised streams for iPhones (and other smartphones) and the iPad. Although you need to sign in, it’s free to use. Don’t hang around, though — the company is facing legal challenges from ITV, Channel 4 and Five that could disrupt its service. Vodafone customers may find their access blocked if they tune in over 3G. m.tvcatchup.com
SlingPlayer Mobile
Not the cheapest way or easiest way to enjoy live TV on the move but a high-tech, high-end choice for real telly addicts. With the help of a set-top box (£100) and a dedicated app (£17), you can pipe your home TV to your iPhone, anywhere in the world. It can beam satellite TV, cable channels and even DVDs or DVR recordings, but can be fiddly to get working with some internet connections. slingmedia.com
Vodafone, Orange
Both phone networks offer mobile TV streaming over 3G, with packages of channels starting at about £5 a month. Channels include ITV, Channel 4 and Five, and plenty of Sky Sports options. online.vodafone.co.uk, orange.co.uk