The Gordian Knot of Mobile TV Policy in Singapore
| Author | Trisha, T. C. Lin |
| Position | Assistant Professor, División of Broadcast and Cinema Studies Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information Nanyang Technological University 31 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637718 Email: trishalin@ntu.edu.sg |
| Pages | 11-21 |
This paper was originally published in Kierkegaard, S. (2009) Legal Discourse in Cyberlaw and Trade.IAITL.
Page 11
The global economic downturn has not changed the optimistic forecast of mobile TV's high potential growth in the near future (Informa Telecoms & Media, 2008; Oh & Jablon, 2008). Many reports regard Asia as a hotbed for mobile TV development because of high cell phone penetration, Asian commuting lifestyles, and advanced mobile technology (Gill, 2008; Pyramid Research, 2009). Singapore, a media hub in Asia, has more than 136 per cent mobile phone penetration and 2.8 million 3G subscribers in July 2009 (IDA Singapore, 2009). Since 2005, 3G mobile operators have launched some video services but failed to attract a large amount of users. Later, the advent of mobile broadcasting technology reignited the hope for mobile TV. In mid-2007, a new media company, Singapore Digital, launched Singapore's first broadcasting mobile TV trial, TV2GO. During the 2008 Chinese Olympics Games, a joint DVB-H mobile TV trial held by Singapore's three telcos (SingTel, Starhub, and M1) and sole broadcaster (MediaCorp) was inaugurated. Singapore's mobile TV, including 3G TV and mobile broadcasting TV, is still in its infancy.
In 2001, the three telcos obtained 3G licenses issued by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) under the Telecommunications Act. Their 3G content is regulated under a light-touch Class License issued by the Media Development Authority (MDA). The Class License Scheme is mainly used for regulating decentralized, open-architecture services. Its service license is automatically obtained and content censorship is less strict. As unicast 3G videos become popular and multicast mobile broadcasting technology matures, the mobile TV platform can play 3G videos, mobile broadcasting content, and even multimedia broadcasting and multicast services (MBMS). Such convergence in mobile technology and content raises debates: whether 3G TV and mobile broadcast TV shown on the same platform should be regulated under the same policy or dual regulatory frameworks (light touch vs. tight control); with broadcasting characteristics, whether mobile TV should come under a tighter license scheme and content censorship similar to broadcasting TV, or a looser regulatory framework as applied to Internet or information systems? In November 2007, the MDA proposed a mobile TV regulatory framework for public feedback. It intended to integrate 3G TV and mobile broadcast TV under a controlled regulatory framework where mobile TV service providers (MTVS) apply individual licenses and abide by TV content codes. After the MDA received the reports of DVB-H TV trials in December 2008, it has yet to announce a new mobile TV policy, as a result of uncertain commercial viability, and complex regulatory considerations for this new convergent platform. Page 12
Policy development usually trails behind the fast advancement of information communication technology (ICT). Mobile TV policy is no exception. Singapore is a digital savvy, media saturated, and mobile prevalent country. Often, it is one of the leading countries that adopt cutting-edge ICTs. Although noted for its scrutiny in policy planning, Singapore still cannot avoid modifying its ICT regulations due to unpredictable changes in technology and its national and societal needs. The motivation of this paper is to retrace some of the factors leading to the enactment of Singapore's 3G mobile video/3G TV law and the proposal of its 2007 mobile TV service regulatory framework. It is interesting to analyze Singapore's regulatory journey to see how it reacts to the convergence of mobile video technology and anticipate some possible challenges ahead associated with the implementation. The analyses and discussions are primarily based on document analysis and results of in-depth interviews with key mobile TV stakeholders (the MDA's policy director and analyst, the broadcaster, the new entrant for mobile broadcast TV). In section 2, the development of Singapore's mobile TV, including 3G videos and DVB-H broadcasting TV trials will be examined. Section 3 will first review mobile videos and mobile broadcast TV policy in other advanced countries, and then elaborate Singapore's policy for 3G TV and its 2007 proposed regulatory framework for MTVS. Finally, this article will make policy recommendations for this emerging and converging mobile TV platform.
Television and mobile telecommunications have steadily converged over the past five years and many forecast mobile TV will soon become a mainstream reality (Informa Telecoms & Media, 2008). However, multiple technology standards, nebulous business models, and mixture of content delivery modes bring mobile TV multifaceted definitions and interpretations in different contexts. Simply put, mobile TV is the wireless transmission and reception of TV-related programmes or videos to a range of mobile devices (eg. cell phones, PDAs). Viewing videos on mobile handsets can be either point-to-point (streamed to handsets via a cellular network, known as "unicast") or point-to-multipoint (via a broadcasting frequency similar to TV or radio, known as "multicast") (Curwen & Walley, 2008). Since the introduction of 3G technology in early 2000, mobile operators saw a great opportunity to provide "unicast mobile video," delivering user-selected audio/video services to handsets by downloading or streaming over the cellular networks (Kumar, 2007). Unfortunately, the bandwidth limitation, less satisfactory viewing experience, and costly data charge caused the sluggish diffusion of 3G mobile video or 3G TV services in the early years. Consequently, a low percentage of mobile phone users take up such services globally.
In 2005, mobile broadcast TV that transmits content with a scheduled timetable over streamed cellular networks or broadcast networks (i.e., DVB-H or DMB-T) (Kurmer, 2007) started in South Korea. Currently, there are a few successful mobile broadcasting TV operators in Korea, Japan, and Italy and many trials are ongoing in Asia, Europe, and the United States. The multitude of technologies slow down the diffusion of mobile broadcast TV (Choi et al., 2008; Gill, 2008). Although Nokia-backed DVB-H seems the most popular standard with widespread adoption worldwide, other broadcast standards lead in different regions: MediaFLO and ATSC-MH in the US; T-DMB and S-DMB in South Korea; ISDB-T in Japan and Brazil; and home-grown CMMB and/or TMMB in China. Besides, the choice of business model - the subscription model and free-to-air model (FTA) - is suitable for its development is debatable (Gill, 2008; Kumar; 2007). The FTA advertisement-funded mobile TV services in South Korea and Japan grow faster than their satellite-based subscription services. However, Qualcomm's research supported the subscription model that provided incentives of revenue generation to stakeholders would become the mainstream in the Asia-Pacific region (Oh & Jablon, 2008).
In 2008, mobile videos transmitted by 3G or 3.5 G technologies resurged and started to gain its prominence and develop rapidly worldwide, due to the improved performance and advanced handsets. According to Pyramid Research (2009), the number of global mobile video subscriptions will grow to 534 million in 2014, reaching a penetration rate of 8.5 per cent of total mobile subscriptions. Believing mobile TV will primarily be unicast (over HSPA or LTE networks), Ericsson predicted that DVB-H would lose out to MBMS - a mobile multicast technology. In mid-February 2008, Ericsson and South Korean vendor LG Electronics announced their successful demonstration of an MBMS-based mobile TV service in Sweden. Although 3G TV and video services are more mature in their subscription business models than the emerging broadcast one, current cellular TV streaming without an MBMS upgrade will suffer from traffic problems. Hence, most analysts expect mobile broadcast TV to take off in 2010/2011 (Informa Telecoms & Media, 2008). Page 13
To keep abreast of the fast advancements in mobile technology and services, the IDA unveiled a draft of the 3G licensing framework and auction rules in January 2001. However, in early April 2001, the IDA decided to drop the auction due to a lack of interest. On 23 April 2001, the three mobile operators (SingTel, M1, and StarHub) were awarded with the Facilities-Based Operator (FBO) 3G licenses with a reserve price of 100 million Singapore dollars each (BBC News, 2001). In early 2005, the IDA, announced that all three telcos have successfully met the IDA's requirements for the nationwide rollout of 3G systems and services by 31 December 2004 (Cellular-news, 2005).
From 2005 till now, the 3G subscription in Singapore has grown exponentially. According to the IDA's Statistics on Telecom Services, 3G subscriptions accounted for about 0.5 per cent, or 21,600 out of more than 4 million mobile phone subscriptions in May 2005. By the end of 2005, the total number 3G subscriptions grew more than eight-fold to 174,800, while mobile penetration rate rose from 96.7 per cent to 99.8 per cent. As of July 2009, the mobile penetration rate stood at 136 per cent, while the total number of 3G subscriptions hit 2.79 million, more than 40 per cent of the total mobile subscriptions of 6.58 million (IDA, 2009).
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