(4 December 2007 6:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Authorities throughout the world are keen to regulate mobile tv. After the Indian government, now the Singapore authorities have decided to regulate mobile tv.

The Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) is conducting a public consultation till 4 January 2008 to seek feedback on the authority's proposed policy and regulatory framework for mobile TV services.

Reports state that the move to facilitate the commercial deployment of mobile TV in Singapore - coming soon after the successful commercial deployment of High-Definition TV this year - is in line with the nation's goal to develop Singapore as a Global Media City and a test-bed for new media services.

One of the controversial proposals for all mobile TV services including 3G services is that they come under current broadcasting content regulations. MDA director of media policy Ling Pek Ling has been quoted in reports saying that it wants operators to follow existing TV programming codes so that objectionable content is not shown to young phone users.

"The rollout of mobile TV has begun to gain momentum across the world. Countries such as Italy, Japan and South Korea have started to offer commercial mobile TV services while Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia are currently conducting trials. With this global development in the broadcast industry as well as strong interest shown by the local media players, it is timely for Singapore to put in place a clear policy framework that will drive investment and innovation and enable mobile TV service providers to offer attractive services to consumers."