Reding is now also putting the question of “whether regulation is necessary for data roaming services and SMS in light of current retail prices and market development” up for discussion. The last time the Commissioner mooted some new laws to govern roaming, prices for voice minutes abroad tumbled as operators tried to deter the EC from introducing more regulation. Fingers crossed this will have the same effect on SMS and data.

The Commission has also hinted that it won’t accept proprietary behavious from those involved in DVB-H, saying it wants to see ‘”transparent intellectual property rights regime, based on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and allowing low price of devices” and a transparent patent pool.

It always looked like the Commission was going to give DVB-H the nod, so this week’s announcement isn’t exactly a surprise, but I suspect will still be provoking some glass-raising at Nokia HQ. However, there are still the questions around spectrum, devices and consumer take-up for that matter to be solved before DVB-H actually gets into people’s pockets so don’t hold your breath for broadcast mobile TV any time soon.