Following the success of GSM as a mobile phone standard, European governments have been quick to take the same "pick a single technology and mandate its use" approach for other emerging communication technologies — for example, W-CDMA for 3G and now DVB-H for mobile TV.
In a white paper published by market research firm Parks Associates, "No Way To Regulate," author John Barrett cautions that regulatory sauce for the goose isn’t necessarily the best sauce for the gander. To prove his point, Barrett points to the financial wreckage that followed Europe's W-CDMA mandate as operators rushed to acquire spectrum and build infrastructure.
"A European mobile TV standard will not enable lucrative roaming services nor will it solve the economies-of-scale problem facing the market," Barrett said. "It will, however, deny European operators the freedom to choose which technologies they need and also deny them the use of established network infrastructure."
To read the whitepaper, visit http://www.parksassociates.com/free_data/free_data_mobiletv.htm.
