Just as DVB-H broadcast mobile TV seems to have taken a huge setback in Switzerland, Russia seems poised to unleash at least two services in Moscow.
Originally leading Russian cellco Vimpelcom and Yota subsidiary Skartela, plus media group Sistema Mass Media each were given trial licenses to operate DVB-H networks in Moscow, offering 8 TV channels already pre-selected by the regulator, for free.
Both Vimpelcom and Skartela launched test systems in Moscow and DVB-H devices can be bought in shops there with no cellco subsidy. The temporary licenses are supposed to terminate at the end of March but both companies expect they will get extensions to the end of April, and then will either get licenses granted without tender or the whole process will go out to an open tender.
Both feel they are in a good position to get a license and Andrei Chernikov, the director of the VimpelCom subsidiary Dominanta, has told local press that he is planning further devices. So far Dominanta has offered a single Samsung P960, somewhat dated by now and it costs around $330.
We have heard many rumors of cheaper devices, mostly about ZTE, which we know to be buying volumes of DVB-H chips, targeting $120 or so. Nokia has one cheap device out and both Samsung and LG have further offerings.
It looks like both Russian offerings will simply limp into commercial existence over the coming months, while the long awaited Sistema involvement may have to come by partnering one of these two networks.