Mobitel mobile TV this year

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT)– Mobitel will launch its mobile TV this year together with the 3G (third generation) roll out.

“SLT is linking up with local TV channels as content partners and also working with global content providers,” Suren J. Amarasekera, CEO of SLT’s mobile telephone arm said explaining that the company will not provide lengthy content on mobile TV.
He raised doubts as to whether entire television programmes are watched by consumers but said that the company will provide focused content in a mobile phone. “We know that there may not be a market to watch ‘Desperate Housewives’ or some such programme for half an hour on a mobile. As such we will concentrate only on providing 3-to-5 minute content,” he added.

Amerasekera noted that the form of the mobile telephone has changed in a bid to facilitate new services such as mobile TV. “Earlier the form factor of a mobile phone had more emphasis on the key pad, but now the emphasis is more on the screen. This is mainly because mobile phones are increasingly made to facilitate things such as mobile TV,” he said. The company is also looking at other innovative services such as automating different cooperates through mobile services. “We are talking to Singer Sri Lanka to see how we can automate their white goods such as refrigerators and washing machines,” he said.