Do you dream of being able to watch live digital TV on your mobile phone handset? Thanks to DVB-H, this fantasy could soon become a reality.

DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld) delivers much better video quality on colour handset displays than you are used to with 3G mobile services. The difference is in the way the content is transmitted to your mobile phone handset. Instead of being streamed as a download through the mobile phone network, DVB-H allows the content to be broadcast just like free to air TV. The result is a clearer, crisper image. And just as there is no limit to the number of TVs that can tune into a TV station, there is no limit to the number of mobile handsets that can tune into the broadcast TV transmission.

The DVB-H technology was developed specifically for handheld devices like PDAs and mobile phones. It was designed to use less power than regular digital TV (DVB-T) to make it more suitable for battery operated devices.

There are currently four main competing digital mobile TV standards around the world. The DVB-H standard was formalised in August 2004 and is the one most likely to be adopted as the industry standard. Digital TV tuners have already been built into some Samsung mobile phones and are available in overseas markets such as Korea.

This new technology was on show at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, but is not yet commercially available.

In February 2006, Italian mobile service provider 3 Italia announced the launch of the first commercial DVB-H service in time for the FIFA Soccer World Cup in June. The Italians are famously passionate about their soccer, but imagine it -- whatever your sport, be it hockey, football or tennis and wherever you are, you can not only know the score but watch every winning point live on your own phone. The La3service will initially have 15 channels for subscribers with DVB-H mobile handsets, including sports, cartoons and shopping. Five more channels are due to be added to La3 before the end of this year.