Mobile operators in Germany will be launching DVB-T handsets to bypass the mobile broadcast value chain which it lost the battle for according to new analysis from Screen Digest.

The media analyst says that the German operators lost he battle while pushing subscribers to take-up expensive contracts through the classic handset subsidy strategy. It is generally optimistic for the players in a market that it says it has never given up on pushing mobile TV to the masses despite poor initial uptake.

One of the key moves in the new development will be the launch by German branches of mobile operators Vodafone, T-Mobile and O2 of a mobile handset capable of receiving digital terrestrial television broadcast based on DVB-T standard at no extra cost.

The LG HB620T has a two-inch wide TFT display and is HSDPA- compatible and is said to be capable of supporting data transfers of up to 3.6 Mbps.

O2 has not yet revealed the details of its tariffs but Vodafone and T-Mobile are to sell the LG HB620T at Euro 99.90 and Euro 29.95 respectively with a 24 month contract. The T-Mobile deal also includes free access to its 3G mobile TV service for three months. Vodafone will offer a second DVB-T handset manufactured by Gigabyte, the GSmart t600, for Euro 289.90 with a 24 months contract.

As a result of these moves, Screen Digest predicts that two mobile TV business models will emerge in Germany: pay TV and free-to-air (FTA).

It cites the South Korean mobile TV market as a good example where both business models have managed to coexist for the past two years and predicts that if more handsets with DVB-T capabilities are launched, the FTA business model will likely to prevail as it did in South-Korea.

The emergence of DVB-T handsets in Germany will inevitably draw the attention of other European mobile operators who, says the analyst, haven't been able to deploy mobile broadcast TV services because of a lack of spectrum, incapacity to obtain a licence, or mobile TV business case scepticism.

Screen Digest adds that to remain competitive DVB-H service players will have to justify the service cost by including premium content and mobile specific applications which cannot be deployed through DVB-T.