Mobile TV benefits from US switchover

It may not have been a practical alternative for viewers staring at blank television screens, but a mobile TV broadcaster was able to switch on nationwide in the US at the weekend as analog transmitters turned off. At the same time, organizations representing the elderly and minorities in San Francisco reported fielding hundreds of calls from confused viewers who had lost their pictures and did not know how to receive the new digital channels now being offered by local broadcasters. The freeing up of channels 54, 55 and 56 in Friday's long-awaited digital switchover meant FLO TV, an offering for mobile phones from wireless chipmaker Qualcomm, could begin broadcasting immediately on the spectrum. FLO was also able to launch straightaway in the three other top-ten US markets previously denied it by the blocked-off bandwidth - Boston, Houston and Miami - as mobile TV's hold in terms of adoption and coverage began to look less patchy. The service forecasts it will now have access to 100 major markets and more than 200m potential customers by the end of the year.