LONDON — Imposing technology standards could threaten the success of mobile TV in Europe, the joint UMTS Forum and GSM Association mobile TV Group has warned European Union regulators.

The group was responding to calls made by EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding earlier this year and at last month's EICTA General Assembly, where she again rejected out of hand all but the DVB-H version of mobile TV for use in Europe.

The Commissioner has been threatening to bring in regulation and enforce a single technology standard for mobile TV if member states failed to evolve a common standard.

"The European Commission should be creating an environment where mobile TV can flourish in all EU member states", retorted Bosco Fernandes, chairman of the Joint Group, which argues that there should be several co-existent standards in Europe for mobile TV.

As the Joint Group made numerous recommendation that it says the EC should consider when issuing its forthcoming proposals, Fernandes added: "There are other ways of accomplishing interoperability, and mobile TV is not the same as classical TV."

Among the recommendations are that the EC should let the market decide on the rollout of mobile TV standards; that it must ensure relevant stakeholders respect the Fair Reasonable and Non- Discriminatory (FRAND) principles and obligations and urgently establish a global IPR policy regarding mobile TV standards; that it should encourage industry and standards bodies to define a minimum common set of features for the Electronic Service Guide (ESG) to be implemented in the handsets to enable interoperability across mobile TV standards as well as member states; and that it should insist on urgent common agreement on identification of harmonized sub-bands within the UHF band.

The group also calls on EU states to release a minimum of one MUX (i.e. 8 MHz) of UHF spectrum (470 – 862 MHz band) for mobile TV broadcasting immediately and to set explicit goals for the release of additional UHF spectrum several years before analog switch-off.

It also calls on governments and regulators immediately to publish a roadmap for the allocation of spectrum and appropriate licensing procedures to enable the mass market commercialization of mobile TV.

The UMTS group's concerns echo those expressed recently by the head of the WorldDMB organization. Quentin Howard said: "It is ridiculous for the Commission to think that only one system can work everywhere! Each country has its own unique requirements and market conditions and the Commissioner's preference for one solution suggests she has failed to grasp that mobile operators and broadcasters need flexibility to develop different business models"

Howard stressed it was vital for European industry that the market is not restricted to one specific technology but rather that it is able to use different systems tailored to each market. "Technology is a rapidly and continually evolving process and it would be damaging to Europe’s economy and its citizens for the Commission to mandate one standard."