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.