Nokia and Motorolo have set their differences aside to jointly support the DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast - Handheld) mobile TV standard and ensure handset and network interoperability between their applicable products and services.

Both companies, which sell 55 percent of the world's cell phones, in addition to mobile and network infrastructure equipment, also endorsed DVB-IPDC (Internet Protocol device control), an open standard for creating solutions and methods that allow operators to deploy multi-vendor mobile TV solutions.

Motorola's director of broadcast technologies Rob Bero said," Operators around the world are evaluating broadcast mobile TV as a compelling new service to offer their subscribers - and interoperability will play a key role in bringing these services to market faster."

DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld) is only one of several competing digital TV standards on the road to market. Qualcomm's MediFlo, currently in testing by Sky Broadcasting, is the most notable of the others in the U.S, but there is also DAB-IP (digital audio broadcasting--Internet Protocol), about to be leveraged by BT and Virgin Mobile in the U.K., for example. German providers are already broadcasting using yet another stanard, T-DMB (Terrestrial-Digital Multimedia Broadcasting).

What all networks based on these standards do is broadcast television signals separately from traditional cellular-data networks, freeing up precious bandwidth for other mobile operator content while promising better quality video to the consumer than current handset TV technologies like Modeo's own MobiTV brand, which piggyback video over regular cellular-wireless bands.

In fact, mobile television that streams over 3G networks are seen by many as only an interem step on the way to wireless broadcasting using standards like DVB-H. With them you are supposed to get lower battery consumption and the capability of simultaneously using cellular services - such as making and receiving calls, accessing the Internet, or sending and receiving e-mail - when watching one of up to 50 channels.

Of all the handset TV standards, DVB-H appears to have the most momentum behind it. Research firm Informa predicts there will be over 50 million DVB-H enable mobile phones by 2010.

The companies said they are also both working on the standardization of the broadcast mobile TV experience. Nokia and Motorola - along with Intel, Modeo and Texas Instruments - formed the Mobile Digital TV (DTV) Alliance earlier this year to just that.

"Commercial mobile TV services are on the verge of launching in several markets across the world. In order for mobile TV to be a true success, we need interoperable mobile devices and systems which deliver the best experience for consumers and enable enjoyable, live broadcast TV when and where it suits them, redefining prime times and television program content," according Nokia director multimedia experiences Harri Mannisto. "Nokia is happy to see that open DVB-H technology has and will have widespread support across the industry players, including Motorola and Nokia, in bringing mobile TV to market."