AT&T Mobile TV Rumors

According to sources quoted by RCR Wireless News, AT&T is planning to launch its own MediaFLO-based Mobile Broadcast TV service in the US next week, following Verizon's launch of the service last March. The service will launch on February 5th, and will include two additional exclusive channels, on top of the 8 basic channels which Verizon also offers. It will feature the LG Vu (CU-920) handset, which is similar to LG's Prada and Viewty handsets, priced between $200 and $250.

ABI Research: 462 Mobile TV Subscribers by 2012

According to a new market research report published by ABI Research, the number of global subscribers to Mobile TV services is expected to reach 462 million by 2012, driven mainly by the expansion of 3G network deployment, and flat-rate pricing plans. ABI Research sees Asia-Pacific as the region with the most prominent growth, expanding from 24 million subscribers in 2007 to more than 260 million in 2012.

It is interesting to compare these figures with the recent findings in a report titled "Mobile TV in Asia", published by the Cable & Satellite Broadcast Association of Asia, as reported in TelevisionPoint. According to the CSBAA report, the number of mobile TV subscribers in Asia will increase from 15 million in 2007 to 76.3 million in 2012, out of 156 million global subscribers. The most probable explanation for this difference is that the CSBAA report refers to Mobile Broadcast TV subscribers only, while the ABI Research report refers to total Mobile TV subscribers, including both cellular networks and mobile broadcast networks.