Japan Aims for Cell Phone Able to Get Digital TV, Nikkei Says
--From AOL.-- Cooters
Tokyo, Dec. 31 (Bloomberg) -- The government has decided that mobile phones developed in the next five years should include the capability to receive terrestrial digital television programs in cooperation with companies such as Sony Corp., the Nihon Keizai newspaper reported without citing sources.
The Post and Telecommunications Ministry wants to promote use of land-based digital TV broadcasting which, combined with Internet access, will provide interactive services such as TV shopping and quiz show participation, the report said.
The advanced cell phone will be designed to transmit data much faster than the third-generation phones to be marketed by NTT DoCoMo Inc. in May, the paper said. The ministry will work with the state-owned Japan Broadcasting Corp., also known as NHK, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., Sony, Microsoft Corp. and others toward development of the phone.
Land-based digital TV broadcasting is scheduled to start in 2003 in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, Japan's three most populated cities, the paper said. The current analog TV broadcasting format will be phased out over the next 10 years, including programs aired by NHK, private networks and local satellite TV stations.
Dec/31/2000 2:29 ET |
