The biggest world congress on mobile technology, the
3GSM World Congress,
is wrapping up a four-day run today in Barcelona, with a total
attendance of 50,000. There were many presentations of the latest
technologies, but if there is one big headline from the event it is
that the portable television is closer than ever to a reality.
The technology is available and already there are plans to put the
needed infrastructure in place in Spain. And more importantly, it seems
that the audience is ready, too. A pilot test conducted in Spain shows
that 55 percent of the participants would pay for the service right the
way and 75 percent would recommend it to others. (Read the
news in Spanish.) For the pilot test, each participant could use a
Nokia 7710
with DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld) receiver to be able
to see live TV on 14 channels. On average, each participant watched TV
for 16 minutes every day.
