LG and Samsung signed an agreement last week to develop and promote a North American mobile/handheld Digital TV (DTV) standard. The companies will jointly develop and propose technology for a mobile/handheld DTV standard to the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC).

ATSC is expected to adopt the mobile/handheld DTV standard for the North American market in early 2009 following trials of the technology by the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), a group of leading U.S. broadcasters who are promoting the development and early deployment of mobile DTV.

JongWoo Park, President of Samsung Digital Media Business, said in statement, "Our collaboration on North American mobile DTV standardization will help accelerate the ATSC standardization of mobile TV technology, which will benefit both consumers and broadcasters."

The jointly promoted mobile DTV solution uses the existing terrestrial digital TV broadcast bandwidth, with no impact on existing digital TV and with minimum broadcasting equipment investment.

Naomi Graychase is the Managing Editor of Wi-Fi Planet.