Prospectus of mobile TV: Another bubble or killer application?

This paper investigates the prospectus of digital multimedia broadcasting from the technical, economic and regulatory issues and whether the market is evolving equitable, open, and competitive environment. Applying concepts of open access policy to the emerging technology of DMB, this paper attempts to gain a better understanding of how DMB will evolve and stabilize in next generation network environments. Three research questions guide this study: (1) How does DMB trigger a change in policy, market and industry structure? (2) What are the driving forces of the rapid DMB development in Korea? (3) Does DMB haul new generation network environment by disrupting the current network environment? As these questions involve socio-technical issues, this study uses a socio-technical perspective to investigate the complex relations between social and technical aspects of DMB by highlighting the co-evolving nature, diversity, and interface, which constitute the next generation network environment. The implication of next generation networks involves the dynamics of industry, regulation, and technology. Finally, this paper provides the DMB prospectus in reference to the next generation network environment.