After declaring the first attempt to launch mobile TV using the DVB-H standard a failure, German media authorities have threatened to withdraw Mobile 3.0's three-year trial license if the operating company doesn't hand it back voluntarily.
After the Commission for Approval and Supervision of the Media Authorities (ZAK) licensing and supervision committee met in Norderstedt, Chairman Thomas Langheinrich explained that Mobile 3.0 did not realize its concept and, further, never submitted contracts for the operation of the DVB-H transmitter network or its sales and marketing partners.
Mobile 3.0 launched DVB-H test transmissions in four large cities in June, but not much was heard after that other than industry rumors that some shareholders, unhappy with Mobile 3.0's prospects, wanted to pull out.
What likely sunk the venture was that, simultaneously, mobile network operators started promoting their own TV-capable phones designed to receive DVB-T signals for free. This move torpedoed Mobile 3.0’s business model, which was based on charging customers €5-€10 a month.
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