US : Telecommunications services platform provider NMS Communications unveiled the Vision CX Video Gateway, a new carrier-ready media and signaling gateway that will connect more mobile users to video content, fueling mobile video adoption and driving operator revenues around the world. The Vision CX Video Gateway is the first integrated gateway to bridge the gap between 3G mobile phones and IP applications for both video and voice services carried over ISDN and SS7 networks.
Video blogging, video ringback tones, video sharing and video gaming are among the many emerging interactive IP-based applications that operators around the world are adopting to increase subscribers and revenues. These emerging interactive video applications are based on the 3G-324M protocol, which is the de facto standard for communications between a mobile video-enabled handset and interactive video applications back in the network.
The NMS Vision CX Video Gateway is an affordable, all-in-one platform that enables the connection between millions of 3G phones using the 3G-324M protocol and the growing number of IP-based video and audio applications using the session initiation protocol (SIP) standard. This will allow for innovative mobile video applications. For example, a travel agent could send a video of a resort to potential guests to give them a compelling visual demonstration of the destination and surrounding amenities. These types of mobile video applications will continue to multiply as the rate of adoption for 3G video-enabled phones increases, currently estimated by Wainhouse Research to hit 150 million by 2010.
Unlike other video gateways that are limited to only video services, the Vision CX Video Gateway provides dynamic ports that handle both video and voice traffic, saving operators the cost, management effort and space required to support multiple devices. Additionally, the Vision CX Video Gateway integrates SS7 signaling within one device to simplify deployments for carrier environments that require SS7 signaling. Other gateways require operators to run two separate boxes to support SS7 signaling.
“Mobile operators are under constant pressure to introduce value-added services that can attract new customers and increase the ARPU of their subscriber base,” said Daniel Hong, lead analyst at Datamonitor. “In order to do this cost effectively, operators should invest in technologies that are easy to manage, support evolving infrastructure and provide immediate short- and long-term benefits. The Vision CX Video Gateway product simplifies complexities in data centers by collapsing a myriad of features and signaling functions into one single box enabling the operator to focus on applications and services.”
Seeing is believing
The Vision CX Video Gateway provides operators with previously unrealized revenue opportunities. Video-enabled customer contact centers can help service providers (including the operators themselves) and other companies reduce call center costs while providing customers with a richer experience and a faster path to the information they need. For example, a mobile phone provider can send a short video SMS message to a new customer demonstrating how to use all of the new phone’s features.
Subscribers will have more communication and entertainment options with services connected via the Vision CX Video Gateway. Video blogging – sharing a video with a group of users or a social network – is gaining momentum. On-demand gaming and video portals that allow subscribers to choose the content they want to see will also increase operator revenues. Video SMS and video ringback tones are also gaining popularity as subscribers continue to look for ways to personalize their communications.
Some of the Vision CX Video Gateway’s key features include:
- Gateway functions for connecting PSTN callers to SIP-based video resources
- Support for mobile video 3G-324M terminals and IP SIP video enabled phones
- ISDN, SS7, ISUP and SIP network signaling
- Optional call control programming through CCXML
- Optional media playback for .3gp video or audio files
- Supports latest IETF RFC standards for transporting media
- Expandable port density via software license upgrade
- Simultaneous support of 324M video and traditional TDM voice calls
“Our customers and partners have recognized that today’s mobile phones have transcended communication to become information gathering resources, portable entertainment devices and even video cameras,” said Jamie Warter, vice president of marketing at NMS Communications. “Delivering the video services subscribers increasingly demand requires a media and signaling gateway with the flexibility to handle voice and video and all of the necessary protocols seamlessly, without any specialized routing requirements. The Vision CX Video Gateway is a great addition to the NMS Vision family of gateways and servers.”
