14 June 2006

The World Cup in Germany is now being broadcast over the Internet into consumer's pockets across Europe.

Last week's news that the BBC will air World Cup games free of charge over broadband networking followed 3's decision to provide its subscribers with World Cup highlights within five minutes of the final whistle of all matches.

In Germany, four major cities (Berlin, Hamburg, Hannover and Munich) are piloting a digital video broadcasting for handhelds (DVBH) scheme following the excitement surrounding the tournament.

DVBH already enables broadcasting of TV and radio programmes over 16 channels, and Germany's E-Plus, along with O2, T-Mobile and Vodafone have linked up to promote the development of mobile TV.

However Logan Orviss has identified key factors in quality of service which need to be maintained in order for the technology to be a success.

The technology must be able to meet consumer expectations and be relevant to the needs of the market, states the company.

Traffic is also a large factor to take into consideration, as networks must be optimised and configured to withstand the low latency demands that IPTV places upon them, particularly when high demand occurs within a geographical region of service.

Mobile phone operator 3 has sent text messages reminding service users of the highlights, which can be stored on to the user's phone or played direct from the Internet.

© Adfero Ltd

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