The partnership is part of a campaign by operators in the mobile industry to attract more users after recording reduced profits and lower average revenue per user (ARPU). AfricaNext, a telecom research firm, released a report in May this year projecting that the dramatic growth of mobile services will lead to 100 percent geographical penetration in 2013, but that ARPU will be reduced.
The shift to mobile TV is expected to generate new advertising revenue streams, contribute to economic development and diversify services offered by mobile-phone companies -- which now heavily depend on voice for revenue.
"For mobile operators, they view mobile business as an opportunity to further enhance convergence of data, voice and video as a way of satisfying customer needs and improving ARPU," said Felix Kyengo, DMTV Kenya general manager.
The switch over to digital TV and the tremendous growth of mobile phones in the region have provided more opportunities for broadcasters to provide entertainment, sports, news and educational content to the public.
"For broadcasters -- with all the changing competing technologies -- their main objective is to use the best of the new digital technologies to make their content more personal, more convenient and more relevant," said Kyengo in an e-mail interview. "Broadcasters are convinced that mobile TV is the best way to keep in touch with their audiences, maintain service loyalty, and increase their advertising revenue."
The reduction in cost of mobile phones and the increase in the number of mobile service operators in the region has forced manufacturers to develop extra services and to enter into agreements aimed at increasing revenue from device sales and the strengthening of their positions in the market.
The mobile TV service is currently available in Kenya from Safaricom and in Nigeria and Namibia from MTN. Under the agreement, mobile-phone subscribers activate their SIM cards and can watch MultiChoice's digital satellite TV (dubbed DStv) portfolio of TV channels at no cost for a year.
Nokia has provided Digital Video Broadcast Handheld- (DVB-H-) enabled phones, which are currently thought of as high-end, but is hoping to make the features available in low-end phones.
"As with all technologies, they are found in the high-end phones in the beginning, but over time we make them available on the low-end phones as well," said Dorothy Ooko, communications officer in charge of eastern and southern Africa.
For Nokia, mobile TV is about making it easier for consumers to access seamless entertainment and information while on the move.
"Convergence is about having your music, radio, TV on your mobile phone and giving the consumer the choice: when traveling in public transportation, at home and at work," added Ooko in an interview.
Currently Nokia is the main DVB-H phone manufacturer in the region, but Kyengo hopes that by the time the FIFA World Cup is held in South Africa next year, there will be phones retailing for US$200 and below, given the trend to remove VAT on phones in many countries.
Soon most phone manufacturers will be forced to produce TV-capable phones and the price will come down, concluded DMTV's Kyengo.