A powerful group of mobile phone companies said on Wednesday that revised licensing fees for essential anti-piracy systems were still too high and complex. Last month, MPEG LA, an umbrella group representing international technology firms, said it would cut proposed new tariffs for anti-piracy technology by one third to $0.65 per mobile phone or other electronic gadget. Calls for the reductions stemmed from fears that high royalties might stifle the markets for digital music and video.
But the GSM Association of mobile phone service providers said on Wednesday the revised proposal from MPEG LA remained "unreasonable and unworkable".
It warned last month that operators could adopt other digital rights management (DRM) systems, although this might mean fragmentation that would prove frustrating for consumers.
Without an open standard, consumers would lose the ability to play a digital music track or movie on any device.
MPEG LA, which represents technology firms including Sony Corp and Philips Electronics, is "missing a tremendous opportunity to unite the industry behind one solution," said GSM Association Chief Executive Rob Conway.
"But we are confident that MPEG LA will continue to respond to market feedback," he said in a statement.
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