The Philippines’ largest mobile operator by subscribers, Smart Communications, has launched a commercial service based on the digital video broadcasting-handheld (DVB-H) standard. The cellco plans to offer mobile TV services to customers via Nokia handsets, including the recently launched N92 model. Smart is partnering sister company 360media to provide the service, known as myTV. The multicast service works by delivering content simultaneously to multiple viewers over a digital TV signal tailored to mobile devices. The operator hopes to sign up between 60,000 to 70,000 subscribers for the service in the next few months, a company official told ZDNet Asia and is offering the service free of charge on a trial basis until the end of August. Channels being offered through myTV include CNN, Cartoon Network, MTV, National Geographic Channel, and Solar Sports.
Elsewhere, Smart rival Globe Telecom is remaining tight-lipped concerning the details of its planned commercial launch of mobile TV services, and indeed, the technology standard on which it will base its services.