TRA grants mobile TV licence

The UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has agreed to issue a ten-year mobile TV licence to the Emirates Mobile Television Corporation consortium, Emirates news agency WAM reports. The concession reportedly includes the exclusive rights to broadcast mobile TV services for five years, ending 31 December 2014, and is thought to be priced at around AED17 million (USD4.63 million). The successful consortium is made up of local telcos Etisalat and Du, as well as Abu Dhabi Media Company, Dubai Media Incorporated, MBC, and Emirates Communications and Technologies Company, a subsidiary of TECOM Investment. The mobile TV service will be based on the DVB-H standard and is slated for launch in the fourth quarter of 2010.