As part of activities to mark its second anniversary, the management of StarTimes has launched a mobile phone television for its Abuja and Lagos subscribers.
The mobile phone television is expected to give the company’s over 800,000 subscribers opportunity to watch their StarTimes television channels on their mobile phones.
The product was launched in Abuja last week by the chairman of the company, Mr Pang Xin Xing.
Senate President, David Mark; Minister of Information, Labaran Maku; Charge d’affair of the Chinese Embassy to Nigeria, Mr. He Meng and other dignitaries were at the event.
In his speech, Mr Pang noted thatthe mobile television launch was StarTimes’ way of helping subscribers keep up with their favourite programmes while on the move.
According to him, the signal of the mobile TV has been on trial since 2010 and has only recently been certified okay.
He said: “During the Africast in 2010, we already launched the mobile TV trial system in Abuja. With the maturity of the businessmodel and the perfection of terminal products, right now we have officially launched the mobile TV system in Abuja and Lagos. This means the public can not only watch clear digital TV programmes on the TV set, but also with their handsets at anytime and anywhere.
“When the conditions are ready, the mobile TV system will be further expanded to other regions in Nigeria. We have various terminal products for mobile TV service, such as the dual-SIM card smart phones supporting TV function, the car TV with navigation system, MP4 which supports TV reception, radio and music playing. These products are of good quality but at affordable price. The content for the mobile TV service is also very colourful; we have the free mobile TV channel, but also the mobile pay TV bouquet which costs only 100 naira per month”
On StarTimes’ achievements sinceits foray into the pay TV business,Mr Pang said the company has revolutionised the pay TV industry in a very short period.
“In the past two years, with the vision of enabling every Nigerian household to afford digital TV, towatch digital TV and enjoy digitalTV, NTA-STAR has already set up the DTT network in nine regions, including Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Benin, Kaduna, Onitsha and Asaba, offering clear and rich digital TV programmes to Nigerian people at affordable price and providing digital TV transmission service for national TV station and private TV stations.
“Up to now, we have invested near $100 million in this project, developing around 800,000 subscribers and hiring 700 local staff. We have created more than N1.3 billion of tax revenue for the country.