dadad@hankyung.com
Sometimes foreigners in Seoul put it that way. Why It's because DMB fever is sweeping South Korea. Approximately 6.5 million people watch DMB more than once a day. But perhaps foreigners who never have been to Korea still have no idea what DMB stands for and what on earth it is.
DMB stands for Digital Multimedia Broadcasting and is mobile television. DMB is characterized as a new media trend which provides seamless TV programs. Of course there have been similar devices with the shape of a traditional TV set, but DMB is a totally different animal. The devices that play DMB are not TV sets, and the system that sends DMB is much different.
There are two kinds of DMB in the airwaves right now. One is Terrestrial DMB, the other Satellite DMB. The difference between the two is whether or not it uses satellites. For users, T-DMB is free of charge while S-DMB is not. This naturally leads to a conclusion that the number of TDMB users is overwhelmingly larger than S-DMB. The market ratio is about 4 to 1.
The twins were born in the year 2005. They were the first one of their kind in the history of technology. This means that South Korea is the holy birthplace of DMB. When they were introduced two years ago, consumers paid no strong attention to them. The overall response was along the lines of "TV again I hate TV. What's going on Do we have to watch TV as we walk" Some professors studying the harm of TV used to point out that DMB will make people more addicted to TV, commenting that the birth of DMB is like providing stronger cocaine to TV watchers.
In spite of the dispute, the number of DMB users has shown a steady growth every month. In January 2006 two hundred- forty seven thousand people watched T-DMB while four hundred-seventy thousand enjoyed S-DMB. This shows that SDMB was more attractive than T-DMB. However, T-DMB came from behind and passed its sibling in April. Two months later, T-DMB users were numbered at one million one hundred-eighty nine thousand. In December, S-DMB also included over one million subscribers. As of May this year, T-DMB reached to 5.4 million and SDMB 1.2 million. Experts predict that the total number will soon climb to 10 million across the nation. This means that one fourth of the population come to enjoy DMB. No other countries have experienced such phenomenon.
DMB is now broadening its territory by exporting itself to other countries. China and Germany are the main importing countries. China is very aggressive to adopt the new technology because China wants to show the Beijing Olympic Games live on DMB in its territory. China wishes not only to stand atop on the list of the medal race, but also to be shown as a country of the high-tech broadcasting. Some regional governments of Germany have finished their tests and started DMB service. Other countries are also joining the China- Germany line. Among them are The Great Britain, France, Italy, Indoneisia, Sweden, Gana, and the Netherlands. It is so funny to hear the news that the Vatican City in Rome has decided to introduce T-DMB for its official way of broadcasting.
Why is T-DMB so attractive Experts say that the technology pays. T-DMB takes less money to install the system than the competing technology DVB-H. Nokialed DVB-H is regarded as a high-cost technology. To start DVB-H service, countries in Europe should rebuild the network and find a new frequency. The frequency for DVB-H is 474 to 746 Mhz. But the frequency has been being occupied for analog and digital TV broadcasting in most EU countries. While Korea-led T-DMB has no weakness in these aspects because T-DMB uses Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) frequency which most EU members are using the frequency. Eighteen countries prefer T-DMB to DVB-H both in finance and technology.
T-DMB also has the upper hands in its references. DVB-H has not commercialized yet. QUALCOMM-led MediaFLO has just started its commercial service in the USA. In the world market, T-DMB has already proven its superiority by showing that 6.5 million Korean people have been enjoying the service without any inconvenience.
To take advantage of T-DMB the Korean government is hand in hand with Samsung, LG and ETRI, an IT research institute based on Daejeon, the southern city of Seoul. They think that T-DMB can play a pivotal role in heralding the level of Korean IT to the world and in sweeping the mobile TV market of the world. Rho Junhyung, Minister of Information and Communication, travels all around the world to export DMB. The government expects DMB to be a goose that gives birth to golden eggs like the mobile handset business which currently comprises a lot of Korea's trade volume.
S-DMB has also drawn attention in the world market. The only provider in Seoul, TU Media, signed an investment contract with a US communication company. The foreign company is planning to show its intention to advance into the world market when the S-DMB market matures. TU Media responded in a positive way. Suh Young-kil, president of TU Media, once said that a lot of foreign companies are knocking on TU Media's door seeking joint business proposals.
It is natural that DMB has broadened the horizon for new businesses. As DMB users grew, new businesses emerged. DMBreceiving devices are diversified. People can watch DMB on cellular phones, DMBonly devices and converged devices, like personal media players and navigation consoles. Cellular phones that can provide DMB services are called T-DMB or SDMB phones. As the popularity of DMB grows, phone manufacturers start to produce T-S-DMB phones for the consumers who want to watch both T-DMB and SDMB. The target of production is to meet the needs of consumers who feel that only 16 channels in T-DMB are not enough. SDMB has 16 video channels and 20 audio channels. T-DMB programs mainly consist of TV programs that KBS, MBC, and SBS have already aired while S-DMB programs are very diversified in its categories which include education, movies, sports, entertainment, business, hobby and dramas.
Besides DMB phones, other devices have been manufactured for the market. DMB-only devices and navigation are the examples. Those who have no deep pockets tend to purchase DMB-only devices that are very cheap because there is no phone function. A lot of manufacturers have shown a variety of devices with simple design. Navigation DMB is the hottest market. Almost every vehicle running in Seoul and Kyeonggi-do Province are equipped with Navi-DMB even though watching DMB while driving is prohibited by law. Drivers not only use it as a navigator on the road but also enjoy it as a handsfree moving TV. Drivers with S-DMB can watch movies, dramas, and sports when they drive a long way outside Seoul and Kyeonggi-do areas because S-DMB is available across the nation. Drivers with TDMB cannot watch programs outside the capital province because T-DMB covers only Seoul and Kyunggi-do so far. T-DMB service providers have plans to extend their coverage to the whole nation as KBS has started to air across the peninsula.
DMB has created a brand new culture in media. It is easy to watch programs live no matter what the programs are. Soccer maniacs yell on subways watching the English Premier League live. You can easily witness Seoulites watching news and sports on subway trains and on sidewalks. They do not have to go home in a hurry in order to watch finals of sports games. Fishermen can have access to programs live while casting the fly. Mountain climbers also get some rest watching music programs through S-DMB.
The future of DMB is bright, but there exists a lot of problems that should be tackled. The revenue of T-DMB and S-DMB providers is still in the red. T-DMB can't make profits because it is free of charge. To cope with the red ink, it should air more advertisements. As for S-DMB, it should increase its subscribers up to 2 million to reach the break even point. The twins also face a strong challenge by Internet TV (IPTV).
