Report proposes two options for French mobile TV

A report compiled for the French government by TV executive Cyril Viguier on the future of mobile broadcast TV (known in France as Télévision Mobile Personnelle or TMP) has proposed two alternative plans for the launch of the service, according to local press.

According to financial daily Les Echos, which has obtained a copy of the report, the first (preferred) proposal would see a new network financed by telecom operators, while the second envisages the creation of a new consortium centred on transmission services provider TDF and participating TV channels. The report also envisages a two-stage network build-out, with an initial objective to reach 15% of the population within two years.

The TDF option is seen as the more viable, as telecom operators have expressed their unwillingness to shoulder the burden of financing a new network and have indicated a preference to focus on their existing 3G platforms.