In an effort aimed at accelerating adoption of mobile broadcast television, Motorola and Nokia said Monday they had agreed to work together on interoperability among their DVB-H devices and services. The companies will also collaborate with carriers interested in deploying solutions based on open standards.

DVB-H technology promises that up to 50 channels of television content can be delivered at low cost over a single wireless network, supporters say.

The agreement affirms both manufacturers' commitment to DVB-H as a method to broadcast mobile TV. The technology offers a high level of service quality while taking into consideration both battery consumption and the ability to use other services of the handset such as voice and data at the same time.

DVB-H adoption is moving a little faster in Europe and Asia, but in January of this year five companies including Intel, Modeo, Motorola, Nokia and Texas Instruments formed the Mobile DTV Alliance to accelerate adoption in the U.S. The group says the U.S. should have the technology available in major markets by 2007.

Adding to faster adoption is the belief that the mobile television market is about to explode. Analyst firm Informa said it expects nearly 50 million DVB-H enabled handsets to be sold worldwide by the end of the decade. Both Nokia and Motorola said that interoperability is a key factor in continuing the growth of the market.

"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," Motorola's broadcast technologies head Rob Bero said.

"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," Nokia Multimedia Experiences director Harri Mannisto added.

In addition to the work being done on interoperability, both companies said they would work together on standardization and technology development of DVB-H. Interoperability work would be performed in parallel with these projects.