According to a report by IMS Research, there will be nearly 500 million mobile TV users around the world in just five years' time. They reckon that once people see other people's handsets showing mobile TV, they'll want one themselves, with the devices effectively providing their own viral marketing.


There's always a but though (or in this case, an if). According to IMS Research:

"If providers effectively supply compelling content, quality reception, and affordable, attractive phones, then every new mobile TV subscriber can become a mobile TV evangelist. However, to make their customers into product evangelists, mobile TV service providers and their partners must invest enough in infrastructure and technology to enable both wide population coverage and good indoor reception."

With enormous amounts of R&D cash currently being pumped into mobile TV technologies, you'd think that all these cautions would be a given. But then again, look at 3G - not exactly cheap, not exactly widely adopted! Let's hope the operators learn the painful lessons that that debacle is still inflicting. Still, this report does paint a rosy picture for those of us looking forward to mobile TV.
[Source: EETimes]