The Mobile DTV Alliance is based on the cooperative and collaborative efforts of its members to help drive and promote mobile digital television via adoption of bearer technologies such as ATSC-M/H and DVB-H, and a common service technology layer for those bearer technologies. Its mission is to promote an open value chain, offering the market more than one interoperable mobile DTV alternative. The result is a scale of operations based on common service layer, delivering benefits to participants. The Alliance works closely with and acts as an advocate for all of the stakeholders including SDO's, Broadcasters, Manufacturers, Operators, Content developers, Content aggregators, Advertisers, and Certification bodies in promoting the benefits of mobile DTV.

The MDTVA has a vision for mobile digital television in North America and is dedicated to making that vision a reality.

We envision a day when mobile TV will be a mass-market service, where everyone with a handset or mobile video display device will be able to watch TV - wherever they are and whenever they want. Video will be a communications vehicle that brings entertainment, information, and education to everyone so that we are all better informed and more productive, able to instantly take advantage of every leisure and work-day moment.

In North America we are at the beginning of an evolutionary journey. First generation mobile TV systems have proven the technical ability to deliver video content across a range of mobile platforms. These early generation systems had limited user interfaces, targeted content, limited coverage, and economic models that dictated application to a limited population pool associated with geography, economic means, and specific interests.

Market studies have repeatedly categorized mobile TV as a highly desirable service. Such services are highly elastic and usage is predicated on the ability to correct the deficiencies of the first generation mobile TV systems in order to allow mobile TV to truly become the mass-market service desired by the North American user community.