3G HOME ssAdvertising and Sponsorship ssFREE Daily 3G Newsletter

CMG Wireless Data Solutions announced that SingTel Mobile has launched its Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) using CMG's Multimedia Messaging Solution. The new service is offered as of September 7, 2002. CMG was selected over its competitors for this service launch.

MMS enables mobile users to send content-rich messages with photos, audio clips and video clips attached. In a relatively new and undefined market, CMG has gained valuable experience working with leading telecommunication operators to successfully implement commercial MMS services around the world, including Hutchison 3G (Australia, Hong Kong, Italy, Sweden and the UK), Globe Telecom (Philippines), Telia (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden), Telenor (Norway), TMN and Optimus (both in Portugal).

CMG will deliver a full suite of multimedia messaging software services to SingTel. The system includes deployment of CMG's Multimedia Messaging Service Center (MMSC), which is the central store-and-forward facility that will accept, buffer, process and distribute all multimedia messages in SingTel Mobile's network. Built on open standards, CMG's MMSC is easily integrated with existing applications and hardware on SingTel's infrastructure, allowing the operator to go to market in a short timeframe. Its architecture will allow SingTel to scale the system to meet the capacity, performance, reliability and budgetary requirements appropriate for each phase of the market life cycle, while it guarantees quality of service even at peak performance.

Since September 7, SingTel's subscribers with MMS-compatible mobile handsets are able to send multimedia messages at the touch of a button, much like how SMS works. Recipients who do not have MMS-compatible mobile handsets receive their multimedia messages through the legacy support application on SingTel's website. In addition, SingTel will be creating a photo library on its Web site, where subscribers can compose MMS messages and send them to designated mobile phone numbers.
According to industry analyst Ovum, annual consumer revenues for multimedia messaging are expected to reach US$70 billion worldwide by 2007. Around US$31 billion will come from person-to-person messaging, while US$39 billion will come from machine-to-person messaging.

Andrew Buay, SingTel's vice president of consumer marketing, says, "SMS has taken the world by storm and we believe MMS, with its enhanced features, will enjoy similar success. As the saying goes, a picture speaks a thousand words. With the integration of the digital camera and the mobile phone, we expect to see high MMS usage from the forwarding of photo images. Self-generated content as well as content download, such as that of animated files and video clips in the near future, will also trigger a user's desire to forward it to friends, thus creating a multiplier effect."

"Through CMG's dominant position in the SMS market we understand the prerequisites for commercial success in mobile messaging. This unique expertise has enabled us to extend our leadership into the MMS market, and we are pleased to partner with the No. 1 mobile phone operator in Singapore to shape the next generation of mobile services," said Boudewijn Pesch, managing director Asia Pacific of CMG Wireless Data Solutions. "The wide acceptance and usage of SMS has become so pervasive in Singaporeans' lives, we are confident that MMS will bring greater value to mobile users, as well as a steady revenue stream for operators."