The BBC has announced that its free iPlayer Internet TV (IPTV) service will shortly be made available on Mobile Broadband equipped phones, starting with Nokia's popular N96. The move is an extension of the BBC's strategy to make iPlayer available on as many platforms as possible, having already found its way on to PC's, TV's and Games consoles.


Naturally some readers will point out that the iPlayer is already available on Apple's iPhone and iTouch, though that is just the streaming (web based) service. Nokia will be the first phone that enables users to download programmes as well, though it's not clear whether it will be P2P (File Sharing) based or not:


Naturally, while the service itself will be free, customers will still need to have an appropriate Mobile Broadband data plan from their operator to accommodate the usage. However users will need to be acutely aware of their usage allowances lest they risk running up huge bandwidth bills.

Similarly, while the service could help to boost Mobile Broadband's profile, it may also give the operators a big headache if it takes off. There may be plenty of spare data capacity around now but that may not last if the networks run out of supply too fast. ISPs have faced this challenge too, although mobile operators are not nearly as flexible.