Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB): Standards, Competition, and Regulation in South Korea

摘要

Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) is a process of broadcasting multimedia over the Internet or satellite that can be tuned in by multimedia receivers or players. DMB (terrestrial DMB and satellite DMB) subscribers have passed the 6 million mark as of May 2007. These two services are expected to become fierce competitors in the mobile broadcasting market. One of the major differences between the two is the service business model. There are two important regulatory issues imposed by the government for the purpose of fair competition: (1) S-DMB is not allowed to re-transmit land-based TV programs and (2) T-DMB is not allowed to convert to a fee-based service. Three major issues are examined in this paper: (1) which of the DMB services will have a better market position in the future and (2) optimal pricing for T-DMB service if both regulatory issues are removed and (3) the amount that regulatory body will allow T-DMB providers to bill their customers if it is needed. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of DMB and to examine the above three major issues. The paper also illustrates the sensitivity analysis of price factor.