BEIJING, Nov. 30 (Xinhuanet) -- European Union nations on Thursday urged the EU not to endorse a Nokia-mobile TV standard for Europe.

    The European Commission had asked all 27 EU governments to support DVB-H, or Digital Video Broadcasting for Handhelds, and to look for ways to mandate its use to help push forward the rollout of broadcasts to mobile phones. It said this was the best way to avoid format wars that can hold back the spread of new technology.

    DVB-H, an open standard that can be licensed by anyone and was developed by European research institutes, has already lined up support from a group of companies headed by handset maker Nokia. Most other phone and handheld companies are on board, too: Motorola Inc., Philips Electronics NV, Sagem Communications, Sony Corp., LM Ericsson Telephone Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. and service providers Vodafone Group PLC, O2 and Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile.

    The EU took this approach when it pushed the Global System for Mobile communications, known as GSM, a move that saw Europeans adopt mobile phones much faster than people in the United States.

    But EU telecommunications ministers said this time that it was important to let the market decide which type of mobile TV it prefers -- and the European Commission should stick to "technology neutrality." They said DVB-H should be a "non-mandatory standard" among other options.

    The EU said next year would be crucial in the growth of mobile TV; many people are expected to use their phones to watch the Beijing Olympics and the European Football Championship.

    The EU's telecommunications chief Viviane Reding warned that Europe risks losing its competitive edge unless it moves fast. South Korea has a mobile TV penetration rate of 10 percent while Italy, the EU's most advanced market, has less than 1 percent.

    (Agencies)