Mobixell extends MMS services to social networks, UGC
By Dan Butcher
April 23, 2009
Kids these days and their social networking and their user-generated content...
MMS, mobile TV and mobile advertising service provider Mobixell has launched Social Media Gateway, a service for carriers.
The service, which supports adaptation and streaming of social media networks' video, audio and image content, will enable carriers to offer their subscribers social networking and user-generated content directly to their mobile phone via MMS and SMS. Mobixell has deployments with more than 80 percent of U.S. carriers, including Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile USA, U.S. Cellular, Metro PCS and Cricket.
"Mobixell is capitalizing on its core competency and expertise in the field of mobile multimedia to deliver the rich-media services experience of social networks and user-generated content such as the very popular video and photo-sharing Web sites," said Simon Darr, associate vice president of marketing for Mobixell, Delaware.
"Mobixell's solution will enable carriers to offer mobile social networking capabilities and Internet content services over existing messaging bearers that subscribers already know and love to use," he said. "The service is offered as a hosted or managed solution or as an in-network deployment, depending on how the operator prefers to launch the service or platform.
"Interest for the solution is coming in quickly from North America, Western and Eastern Europe, and shortly, the Asia Pacific market will be addressed too."
The service targets heavy social network users, which tend to be the 18-30 age group.
"We are seeing a change in how young people communicate," Mr. Darr said. "Whereby much of their communication used to be centered around text and IM, much of their day-to -day communicating with friends is now moving to social networks."
Mobixell is a U.S.-based company with additional offices in Britain, Germany, China and Israel. It has partnered with more than 300 carriers and content players worldwide.
Mobixell also has music industry content producer clients such as Sony and Universal.
Consumers will be able to access the service through their carriers once they launch, first by registering via the carrier's mobile Web/WAP portal, then by using the service over text, picture and video messaging services.
Social Media Gateway allows mobile consumers to communicate with their social network communities and receive user-generated content media without the need to download and install special software or handset clients.
Instead, subscribers will be able to use the same SMS and MMS services they are accustomed to.
"The solution targets mobile operators looking to take part in the enormous new social media market, which for the most part has escaped the carriers until now," Mr. Darr said. "The current solutions available are very basic and do not address the mass market nor the needs of operators.
"Operators are looking to drive messaging traffic and data package sales and strengthen their relationship with their customers to improve loyalty and generate new ARPU sources warding off the encroaching internet giants that have recently been posing a threat with the Internet's free approach and advertising-funded models," he said.
"Carriers are looking to capitalize on their unique assets to build value-added services that create a smart pipe and our solution can help."
Sony and Verizon Wireless have adopted Mobixell's services in the areas of mobile advertising and content adaptation.
"This solution is in fact it less relevant to Sony, as it is more of a carrier solution," Mr. Darr said. "When and if they do deploy, we would expect a large marketing/advertising campaign, as the media coverage would carry a lot of hype.
"From our experience of other operators' launching social network solutions, even very basic ones, shows heavy advertising and publicity efforts," he said.