CMG wireless data solutions announces interoperability with Sony Ericsson for multimedia messaging (MMS)
CMG Wireless Data Solutions, the global leader in competitive edge messaging and transaction solutions, today announced the successful completion of the interoperability test between Sony Ericsson's T68 handset and CMG's Multimedia Messaging Service Centre (MMSC). This first successful interoperability test is a major step towards the launch of MMS in 2002. The two main factors for commercial success will be, the availability of handsets and a smooth and universal user experience. Multimedia Messaging is expected to be a key revenue generator for GPRS and 3G networks. CMG already performs MMS trials with several operators worldwide, and has closed contracts for commercial delivery of MMSCs at 5 operators; Telenor of Norway and four operators in the Telia group.
Multimedia Messaging is the multimedia evolution of SMS. It builds on the proven business models of SMS, which today accounts for 10-20 per cent of some of the leading mobile operators' revenues (CSFB, 3G Mobile, 2001). MMS extends these business models with a richer user experience and increased ease of use, enabling users to share experiences and express themselves through media-rich, instantly delivered messages.
Today's youth, grown up on video games and the Internet, has adopted SMS as an icon and is expected to embrace MMS as well. And there is potentially a new user group: subscribers who consider recording a voice memo, for example, easier than composing an SMS message. If the SMS experience is used as a model, the uptake of MMS will most probably start among consumers, especially the young, and certain 'niche' professionals, before business users discover its attraction and switch over in increasing numbers.
"We are proud to have completed MMS interoperability testing with the first handset announced to support MMS, the Ericsson T68. Based on the successful test we have agreed that CMG will deploy T68 handsets in the trials of our MMSC. In our opinion interoperability is key to the success of MMS. CMG is not a supplier of handsets, which gives us an excellent position to realise MMS interoperability with the handset vendors. We are currently testing a Nokia handset, which is progressing very well," said Geert Kolthof, vice president for CMG Wireless Data Solutions.
CMG has an extensive interoperability testing program in place, to establish interoperability of the CMG MMSC with various handsets, but also with MMS applications and with other vendors' MMSCs and WAP gateways.
MMS is a mass-market service, and will soon be supported as a standard capability on mobile handsets, from low end to high end. Typical MMS handsets will have built-in digital cameras and voice memo recorders, as well as connectivity to external equipment such as cameras and MP3 players. The user will have a library of pictures, sounds and videos to include in messages. These can be downloaded from the Internet, saved from received messages or created by the user.
When MMS will be launched the penetration of MMS compliant handsets will initially be low. CMG's Multimedia Messaging solution includes two applications that extend the MMS experience to all users, regardless of terminal capabilities: the Legacy Support Application and the Multimedia Library. The Legacy Support Application delivers multimedia messages to users with pre-MMS handsets. When a multimedia message is addressed to a user with a pre-MMS handset, he/she receives a notification and accesses the message through any web browser. In CMG's Multimedia Library, users with pre-MMS handsets can send multimedia messages. This web-based application offers pictures, sound clips and video clips for the user to include in multimedia messages. These messages can be sent from an MMS handset or directly from the Multimedia Library web page.
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