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Berlin (pte025/10.01.2005/13:45) - German mobile users are to be charged a TV license fee from April because an increasing number of handsets are equipped to receive radio and TV transmissions. As the Media Guardian http://www.mediaguardian.co.uk reports, although the licenses were to apply to computers from April anyway, they have been extended to include mobile phones as more and more of them are able to receive FM radio stations. It is also expected that sales of phones with TVs will take off later this year.
Mobile phone users in Japan and Korea have been using TV-phones for some time and the service was launched in Berlin in the summer. Customers to the service can receive Eurosport and music channel Viva Plus amongst others. The service is made possible through so-called Digital Video Broadcasting for Handhelds (DVB-H) technology and is due to be extended to Cologne, Hanover, Hamburg, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt over the next 12 months.
However, it is yet to be proven if the service will be a success. A recent US poll revealed that 53 per cent of mobile phone users had little or no interest in watching TV through their phones. The study, carried out by Lycra Research, also found that only 14 per cent of people were very interested in the technology. The new law also covers computers that have a built-in TV card but people who have already paid for a TV and radio license will not have to pay twice.
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