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AT&T ( NYSE: T ) has used its clout as an Olympics sponsor and official telecommunications provider to the U.S team to nail an exclusive 24/7 channel on its broadcast mobile TV service run by Qualcomm's ( NSDQ: QCOM ) MediaFLO, we have learned. That's how a Verizon Wireless ( NYSE: VZ ) spokesman explained it to us: "They are an Olympics sponsor and as such they use their weight to freeze out other mobile TV providers from offering Olympics coverage." NBC's coverage of the Olympics won't be limited to AT&T entirely, but for mobile the carrier did secure sole rights for live competition footage and commentary on the MediaFLO platform, which both carriers use for broadcast-like TV service. The new channel, NBC Olympics 2Go, is set to launch August 8 at the beginning of the games and marks the third channel for NBC on the permanent 10-channel deck in addition to the limited-time channels routinely offered for special events. AT&T will play NBC's coverage of the games on its mobile TV broadcast service and its Media Net deck while Verizon's mobile offering will be limited to streaming video only on its V Cast video deck that will include daily highlights, breaking news, scores and results and more. AT&T's U-verse customers and Verizon's FiOS TV customers will get on-demand access to events at the games, footage from past games and highlights. On the broadband side, the carriers' plans are near identical as well with both launching more than 20 live streaming feeds from the games when the games begin. Related NBC And AT&T Partner On An Exclusive Music Work-Out Mix For The Olympics

Is mobile TV gaining momentum or isn't it? In recent weeks, both Nokia ( NYSE: NOK ) and Qualcomm have said the service isn't getting the take up it had expected, with the Finnish handset maker dramatically declaring it was " a bit in a turmoil ." According to an IHT feature on the subject, however, it's got respectable traction in Europe and Asia. In Switzerland, 40,000 people watch a 100-second news broadcast on their mobiles each day through Swisscom's service costing 13 Swiss francs ($12.50) a month. In Italy, some 1 million people subscribe to mobile TV services from its three operators, paying up to 19 euros ($30) a month. Research firm In-Stat says Japan and South Korea lead in uptake. They, however, measure uptake according to how many devices come with TV receivers—20 million in Japan, and 8.2 million in South Korea. By comparison, In-Stat estimates that US carrier Verizon ( NYSE: VZ ), which has offered mobile TV services via Qualcomm's MediaFlo for a year now, has fewer than 100,000 paying viewers. European uptake could be higher as well, but is apparently being hindered by the lack of available broadcast spectrum. While the European Commission has endorsed the DVB-H standard for mobile video, the lack of spectrum is driving some European operators to turn to a different standard called DVB-T, with the T standing for terrestrial. The technology, however, lets users bypass network control of mobile TV, meaning they don't pay a penny for it. Some operators, however, are considering the trade-off—free terrestrial TV services for a bigger audience. In Germany, T-Mobile failed to secure a DVB-H license and now plans instead on selling DVB-T mobile phone, while Vodafone ( NYSE: VOD ) is also thinking of selling DVB-T devices. The question is of course, whether "free" can drive viewership and how revenues will be wrung from such services. Related AT&T's MediaFlo Mobile TV Service To Launch Next Week; Pricing Will...

Reports that Sonopia was shutting down spread like wildfire yesterday, but its founder Juha Christensen, said today it's not true. The company is still alive, but drastically scaling back its business and essentially hibernating until the U.S. MVNO market turns around. Sonopia has eliminated all of its U.S. employees from its Menlo Park, Calif. headquarters. Even Christensen holds the unpaid position of Chairman. In their development offices in Ukraine, they have 30 people or half as many as before. As they wait, Christensen is looking at expanding into Europe, where MVNOs have performed better but no decisions have been made. "U.S. consumers have not warmed up to MVNOs, there really hasn't been an MVNO that has shown the way and made a spectacular success out of it, and in Europe, you've seen MVNOs play a role in each of the main markets—sooner or later that will happen in the US," he said. At its core, Sonopia was an MVNO of MVNOs, meaning it allowed anyone to easily set up a cellphone business for a particular niche, brand or non-profit. That model would imply that tons would have to be successful in order for Sonopia to do well. Since launching a year ago, they have signed up thousands of services, everything from The National Wildlife Foundation and Audubon Mobile to more obscure things like Apple ( NSDQ: AAPL ) Fans, Yoga and Boxing. Christensen said while the company reorganizes, the customers will still be able to use their phones, but Sonopia is now using a third-party to obtain wholesale minutes, rather than having a direct-carrier relationship. Sonopia has raised about $20 million in venture capital, and Christensen said he's not looking for anymore. His take on the U.S. MVNO scene: He sees some success among the lower tier of the market, among players like Tracfone and Virgin Mobile ( NYSE: VM ), but it remains to be seen if it can move up the value chain. His opinion on Helio is that the business is likely not performing well—they...

We're closed for the rest of the year, hence running on headlines until Jan 2: -- DoCoMo To Offer Google Services : Japan's NTT DoCoMo ( NYSE: DCM ) is in talks with Google ( NSDQ: GOOG ) for more Google services on iMode. KDDI already has a deal with Google on search and e-mail services for its "au"-brand mobile phones. -- Verizon Gets Mobile With Sports : The company is showcasing a slew of college football bowl games live on its mobile service through Jan. 6. The full-length simulcasts of 24 games began Dec. 20 with the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego, and are mostly carried on the ESPN ( NYSE: DIS ) channel.

Verizon's ( NYSE: VZ ) announcement that it would open up its network theoretically means a wider variety of handsets available to US consumers (although don't expect an influx anytime soon). The Wall Street Journal has taken a look at business models around the world, from the equally locked down Japan to the completely unsubsidized China and India. "At any given time in China, there are more than 1,000 cellphone models available on the shelf...Many of those phones are cheap: the least expensive start at about $20 in India and $40 in China." This is because handset manufacturers can make the phones in bulk without having to customize for each carrier. There are also high-end multimedia phones for those who have the money, and the right brand is seen as a status symbol. The "cheap handset" aspect of the open networks isn't likely to happen in the US unless all the other carriers follow suit, and even then there's the GSM/CDMA divide. The WSJ thinks that Europe is the best example of what Verizon is proposing—people can buy direct from the manufacturer or at a subsidized price from the carriers, but more than 95 percent of people choose to buy the handset through the carrier . It also notes that some people have multiple SIM cards to put in their handset to take advantage of differences in price at different times of the day/location. All in all I agree with Gartner analyst Hugues de la Vergne—the first handsets available for the open spectrum will be high-end handsets targeting a particular niche. I also expect there'll be a number of hacked phones with different software doing the rounds…