There are now 12 CMMB (China Mobile Multimedia Broadcasting) mobile TV channels that are available to China Telecom's Esurfing service users in Changsha City of Hunan Province, an official with China Telecom's Changsha branch said on Jan. 12, marking the first time CMMB mobile TV has been offered commercially in China.

"The CMMB mobile TV service is currently offered in the downtown area of Changsha to China Telecom's CDMA Esurfing service subscribers," a press official with China Telecom's Changsha branch, surnamed Li, told Interfax.

According to Li, CMMB-enabled mobile phones are now available for sale in China Telecom's customer service centers in Changsha, priced under RMB 2,000 ($292.56). The CMMB mobile TV service costs between RMB 20 ($2.93) and RMB 30 ($4.39) per month, depending on the number of channels subscribed to.

On Jan. 7, China Telecom's Changsha branch and China Satellite Mobile Broadcasting Corp.'s local branch in Hunan Province signed a memorandum over the provision of CMMB mobile TV services. Under the agreement, China Telecom will be in charge of the marketing and user management for CMMB mobile TV, while China Satellite Mobile Broadcasting will provide content for the service.

Li refused to reveal how the two parties will split revenues from operating CMMB mobile TV.

An industry analyst, who wished to remain anonymous, said that telecom operators have an incentive to combine CMMB mobile TV with their 3G services in order to make their 3G services more attractive to mobile phone users.

"The involvement of telecom operators in combining 3G and CMMB will not be limited to the provision of handsets that support the two technologies, but will extend to the actual co-provision of services, as in Changsha," the analyst said.

In December, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) granted network access licenses to two TD-SCDMA mobile handsets that feature CMMB technology for the first time.

Source:INTERFAX-CHINA