(1 February 2006 3:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Korea has agreed to help expedite the launch of Terrestrial Multimedia Broadcasting technology (T-DMB) commercial services in India.

The Korean and Indian governments have also agreed to launch trial T-DMB services in Mumbai by mid-February.

The Korean information and communication ministry has scheduled the Delhi trial run for T-DMB services also for this month. Reportedly, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), the Tata Group, Star TV India, Zee TV, Bharati Tele Ventures (Airtel) and Mumbai Police will be associating with the trail run.

T-DMB technology was initiated by the Korean government to allow broadcasters to transmit digital TV programming to mobile phones, lap tops or personal digital assistants while on the move, via conventional terrestrial transmitters. India & Korea uses the same bandwidth, Band-III, for digital audio broadcasting. This would make immediate commercial services possible in India once the government extends permission.

"The two sides also agreed to soon begin working-level discussions to sign a memorandum of understanding," a ministry official has been quoted in media reports as saying.

In association with the World DAB Forum -- a London-based international organization for promoting digital broadcasting -- the ministry will be holding a conference and demonstration event at the broadcasting event Broadcast Engineering Society (BES). The event will be held from 9 February to 11 February in New Delhi. The ministry will also hold a demonstration of T-DMB services for government officials and business people in Bangalore.

Update: After the publication of this report, the Korean Broadcasting Commission (KBC) got in touch with us to point out that incorrect communication had been sent out to the media and that it is the KBC which would be demonstrating T-DMB at the BES Expo in New Delhi and not the Korea Ministry of Communication & Information. The KBC says that the Ministry is only involved with the Bangalore event.

Click here to get details of what KBC is doing at the BES Expo in New Delhi.