Mobile TV to reach 472m

The number of people receiving mobile TV will reach 472 million by 2013, according to an analysis by Cantab Wireless, reports Cambridge Network.

Cantab Wireless has just published an updated analyst report: 'Mobile TV - Technologies, Country Cases, and Forecasts for 2009-2013', which argues that subscriber growth is anticipated to be strongest in Asia at first, especially in Korea and Japan.

From 2010 onwards, Europe and the US are expected to catch up. Especially in Europe the shortage of radio spectrum before the analogue TV networks shutdown may delay the launch of mobile TV networks in some countries, most importantly in the UK.

Cellular handset maker Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications said it expects to post a loss in the range of EUR340-390 million in the first quarter of this year, due to continued decline in sales, states The Economic Times.

The company has estimated a net loss before taxes in the range of EUR340-390 million, excluding restructuring charges between EUR10 million and EUR20 million, Sony Ericsson said in a statement.

"..Net sales and net income before taxes in the first quarter of 2009 continue to be negatively affected by weak consumer demand as well as de-stocking in the retail and distribution channels," the statement added. The company is due to announce its first quarter result on 17 April.

India's mobile phone industry is growing at a furious pace despite the country's slowing economy, according to VOANews. India is the world's fastest growing cellular market.

Connections are being added at the fastest pace in the world. Many of the new subscribers are those working on their own such as vegetable sellers and taxi drivers, or low-income earners such as maids and labourers.

Girish Trivedi, a senior analyst at consultancy Frost and Sullivan, says mobile phones have become a handy tool for millions of people who work in the unorganised sector.