The mobile industry hopes that 3G phones – handsets with colour
screens, video and picture messaging or internet browsers – will
explode in popularity. While there are just over 500,000 3G
subscribers at present, 40 new networks are expected to be launched
across Europe over the course of the next year.
But content providers are concerned about the potential for
pirated films and music on 3G phones. So plans were announced on
Monday for a licensing and compliance framework called Content
Management License Administrator (CMLA). Panasonic, Warner Bros,
Nokia, Intel, mmO2 and Vodafone are among the participants.
This body will provide encryption keys and certificates to
licensed device manufacturers and service providers to enable
security and interoperability between new devices and services. The
system will be based on a digital rights management system
developed by Open Mobile Alliance.
The CMLA will aid participation in the system by defining
standard agreements among service and content providers and device
makers. These agreements are due before mid-2004, while the
encryption keys should be ready by the end of the year.
