DVB-WORLD DUBLIN – Qatar is the first country in the Middle East to commercially offer Digital Video Broadcasting – Handheld (DVB-H) later this year. The service has been on a trial since December.
Qtel Executive Director (Wireless) Sheikh Fahad bin Jassim al-Thani told Gulf Times that the service provider was in talks with vendors to build a commercial platform for DVB-H. “We are ready to go commercial. But the only bottleneck is the lack of adequate DVB-enabled handsets. Only Nokia and Samsung market them now,” he said.
Sheikh Fahad said television programmes from some 13 popular broadcasters including Al Jazeera, CNN and Cartoon Network besides QTV were being beamed across Qtel’s DVB-H network.