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Next spring, 500 O2 customers around Oxford will be given multimedia phones capable of receiving 16 TV channels.

The channels will show music, sport, news, comedy, soaps, documentary, drama, cartoons and specialist content, including interactive gaming and shopping and the companies will analyse how the channels are used and what type of content the triallists value enough to pay for.

Terry Howard, head of media business development in NTL's Broadcast division, said: 'This is a commercial trial to test the business case for a mobile TV service in the UK. We've performed extensive market research

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about consumer demand and viewing habits and it looks very positive, but these results need to be validated in a trial environment in conjunction with key players in the industry.

'We expect the results of the trial to help us shape any future national service deployment. Mobile TV provides a new channel to market for existing media players seeking increased viewership and additional potential revenues. For mobile operators it provides a value-enhanced service and increased revenue per user.'

The TV services will use equipment from Nokia and Sony Semiconductor & Electronic Solutions (SES). Content will be delivered over the DVB-H broadcast transmission standard for handheld devices - specially designed for low power consumption and robust reception.

Dave Williams, mmO2's chief technology officer, said: 'This trial allows us to evaluate DVB-H as a potential low-cost delivery mechanism for mobile TV services to complement our planned 3G-based mobile music and video services. As a leading mobile operator in this field, O2 is able to add significant value to the mobile TV proposition, enhancing DVB-H based services whilst also stimulating usage of 3G data services.'