Mobile Broadcast Royalty Dispute

TU Media, a Korean consortium for satellite-based mobile broadcasting service, said on Monday it is in a dispute with Toshiba Corp. over royalties on the Japanese firm’s technology. Toshiba, which has the biggest stake in Japan’s satellite-based mobile TV service consortium, has sent an official document to the Telecommunications Technology Association, a Korean business lobby, requesting the Korean consortium pay it “a royalty of 2 percent per terminal sold, regardless of its type”, says TU Media.

The Japanese consortium, Mobile Broadcasting Corp., is TU Media’s satellite mobile broadcasting partner, and Toshiba is the chief provider of core technologies for the service. The satellite service gives mobile phone users access to high-quality video, pay-per-view programming and audio channels. The Korean consortium, led by the country’s top mobile carrier SK Telecom, wants to arrange a lower-rate royalty system based on the amount of terminal sales. Continue >>