This is outstanding

Mobile Phones Forum / General Mobile Forums / Mobile Technologies News and Issues

teleguy
Enthusiast

Mar 17, 2005, 9:33 AM

Post #1 of 5 (2624 views)

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Big kudos to Cingular and Verizon for getting the ball rolling. I have a feeling that this is just the beginning of intercarrier agreements. At least I hope so. It seems to make sense for everybody.

What intercarrier services would you like to see sooner rather than later? Would intercarrier service ( or lack of it ) cause you to consider switching carriers? What do you think about this?

And most important: Take action and share. Have you tried this out yet? Report on your experience.

U.S. cell phone firms allow cross-carrier photo swaps

NEW ORLEANS--The top two U.S. cell phone carriers have become the first to let their subscribers swap photo mails and other mixed-media messages with each other's customers.

The agreement between No. 1 cell phone company Cingular Wireless and No. 2 operator Verizon Wireless was quietly put into place sometime during the last few weeks. Together the carriers account for 93 million of the 180 million U.S. cell phone subscribers, and it's likely the arrangement will spur other top U.S. operators to reach similar pacts.

In the four years since Sprint introduced the first camera phones in the United States and other top carriers introduced copycat services, cell phone operators have limited photo mail swaps to transactions between their own subscribers. But now those barriers are dropping, erasing a major hurdle and, some executive believe, starting a surge in cell phone photo mailing and other use.

"We saw the same thing with text messaging: As soon as there was intercarrier messaging, use of text messaging started to soar," Cingular Wireless Vice President Jim Ryan said Tuesday during an interview here at CTIA Wireless 2005, a major cell phone trade show. "We're trading traffic with Verizon Wireless right now. By the end of the second quarter, we're looking to be interoperable with all major carriers."

"Trading traffic" with Verizon was not an easy feat from a technology perspective, mainly because not every camera phone is the same. Some have different screen sizes or differ in the range of colors they can work with. The nuances mean operators must adjust the photos accordingly, using network equipment known as a mixed-media message service center.

Adding to the complexities, say analysts and cell phone company executives, is that cell phone service providers have each built slightly different versions of photo services, instead of waiting for an industrywide standard.

Despite interoperability difficulties, camera phones are credited with the surging use of wireless data services in the United States, with some wireless operators saying their data revenues have doubled in the past two years.

Last year, 180 million camera phones were sold worldwide, a 130 percent increase over 2003. Most analysts believe the growth will continue, with some predicting about 280 million camera phones will be sold by the end of the year. There may be 1 billion camera phones in circulation by year's end.

The agreement between Cingular and Verizon Wireless surfaces just a day after Kodak Chief Executive Daniel Carp lambasted the cell phone industry for moving too quickly to more-advanced mixed-media services, such as streaming video to handsets, without fixing the problems of photo mail services. The end result, Carp warned, will be throttling these services, which have been credited with Americans' increased use of their cell phones' Internet connections, which comes into play in photo mail services.

teleguy
Enthusiast

May 24, 2005, 11:21 AM

Post #2 of 5 (2110 views)

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Verizon signs another , though smaller, carrier to share MultiMedia Messaging Service (MMS) with. Now Verizon and Cricket users can share Picture mail , audio files and Video mail with one another. Good example of carriers working together for the benefit of both and of the consumer.

Have you tried this yet? How well does it work?

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Verizon Wireless and Leap Sweeten Their Picture Messaging Offerings By Launching Inter-Carrier Multimedia Messaging

With Inter-Carrier Messaging, Verizon Wireless and Cricket Customers Can Exchange Photos With Each Other Via Their Mobile Camera Phones; Plus Users Can Wirelessly Swap Video

BEDMINSTER, NJ and SAN DIEGO — In a move to further enhance their multimedia messaging service (MMS) offerings, Verizon Wireless, owner and operator of the nation’s most reliable wireless network, and Leap Wireless International, Inc. [OTCBB: LEAP], a leading provider of innovative and value-driven wireless communications services, today announced that picture messaging customers of Verizon Wireless and Leap’s Cricket service can now exchange photos with one another directly from their wireless camera phones. Users with video phones can also wirelessly swap video, including picture, text and audio files.

Mobile 365 will provide the interoperability service between Verizon Wireless and Cricket customers. The Mobile 365 network supports the CDMA2000 1X network standard used by the two carriers, and both Verizon Wireless and Leap chose Mobile 365 to provide the platform for interoperability in sending pictures given the company’s leadership and expertise in the delivery of mobile messages.

“Now that picture messaging has gained mass-market popularity, customers want to be able to swap photos with their friends and family, regardless of which wireless carrier’s network they’re on,” said Al Moschner, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Leap. “We are pleased to have formed a relationship with Verizon Wireless and Mobile 365 to make inter-carrier picture messaging a reality for our customers, and believe that this service will be popular with our growing multi-media messaging customer base. Inter-carrier messaging for our customers is just one more way that we continue to evolve our Cricket product offerings, and believe that it will be of great value to our customers.”

“Inter-carrier agreements such as that between Leap and Verizon Wireless are necessary for seamless picture messaging interoperability across the country,” said Jim Straight, vice president of wireless Internet and multimedia for Verizon Wireless. “In addition to encouraging the proliferation of wireless picture messaging, these types of inter-carrier agreements are in the best interest of customers who want to be able to send and receive pictures with wireless customers outside their respective carrier’s network. We believe that picture messaging between customers on different wireless networks holds as much promise as inter-carrier text messaging did when it was first introduced a few years ago. We are pleased to be working with Leap and Mobile 365 and look forward to this service taking off.”

Both Verizon Wireless and Cricket support a wide selection of multimedia messaging-capable phones.

teleguy
Enthusiast

Jul 9, 2005, 10:52 AM

Post #3 of 5 (2022 views)

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Following up Verizon and Cingular's leadership in March, today (finally!) Sprint and TMobile announced MMS sharing between customers on their networks.

How soon before all the major networks can share MMS?

Have you tried this out yet?
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T-Mobile USA and Sprint Make it a Snap for Customers to Share Pictures and Text Messages

Sprint and T-Mobile Customers can use Wireless Phones to Exchange Picture and Video Messages

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. and BELLEVUE, Wash. — 07/07/2005
Communication is sharing. Sharing ideas, feelings, pictures. And today, customers of Sprint (NYSE: FON) and T-Mobile USA, Inc. are able to communicate with more people than ever before, thanks to an agreement that enables picture and video messaging exchanges between subscribers.

It's called Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS) interoperability. It allows T-Mobile and Sprint customers to send and receive picture and video messages across carriers. In other words, the world of communication just got larger.

"Sprint continuously looks for ways to enhance Sprint PCS Picture Mail service to make it easier and more convenient for its customers to share, print, store, manage and display digital images," said Pierre Barbeau, general manager Picture Mail, Sprint. "Picture sharing interoperability with T-Mobile helps our customers stay better connected to their friends and family."

"This is just another way T-Mobile is enhancing how customers communicate," said Michael Gallelli, director of product management for T-Mobile USA, Inc. "T-Mobile's customers want to expand their communications world by allowing more people -- regardless of wireless provider -- to receive their text, instant and picture messages."

The MMS interoperability for Sprint is made possible by VeriSign through its LightSurf GX-MMS service. LightSurf GX-MMS service helps operators enable MMS traffic to more customers through a completely hosted and managed service.

Sprint and T-Mobile support a wide selection of picture and video message-enabled phones.

teleguy
Enthusiast

Jul 10, 2005, 11:26 AM

Post #4 of 5 (2018 views)

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Well, Cingular looks like it is trying to answer my question !

Good for them ! Big kudos to all the carriers who are taking strides toward interoperability. That includes Cingular and Verizon who started the ball rolling, and also to Sprint, TMobile , Leap and USCC.

Two big companies I don't see yet on Cingular's announcement yet are Nextel and Alltel. Will they get in the game? What do you think?

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Cingular Wireless Announces Multimedia Messaging Interoperability With the Nation's Top Wireless Carriers Cingular Customers Can Use Their Camera Phones to Snap and Share Picture
& Video Messages with More People than Ever Before

ATLANTA, July 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Cingular customers can exchange pictures
and short video messages, including text and audio, with any Cingular, Sprint,
T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Leap Wireless and US Cellular customer, who has an
MMS-enabled device, as well as any email address. With Intercarrier
Multimedia Messaging Service, Cingular customers have access to the broadest
wireless MMS community, representing 80 percent of wireless subscribers in the
U.S.
Interoperability is great news for all wireless customers as well as the
wireless industry as it dramatically expands the mobile universe of family and
friends with whom wireless users can share photos and videos. In other words,
the wireless world just got a lot easier to navigate. All that's needed is an
MMS-capable phone and the desire to share.
"Making it possible for wireless users to share pictures and video
messages with family and friends, regardless of carrier, is an important step
in the widespread adoption of multimedia messaging," said Jim Ryan, vice
president of Consumer Data Services, Cingular Wireless. "Cingular is excited
to be delivering the full promise of wireless communication to our customers."

Capturing and sharing special or everyday moments is quick and easy with
Multimedia Messaging. Using the multimedia messaging feature of their camera
phones, Cingular customers can instantly share messages that include text,
photos, animated graphics, voice messages, music and video clips.
Cingular supports a wide selection of multimedia-capable phones.

teleguy
Enthusiast

Aug 19, 2005, 1:06 PM

Post #5 of 5 (1906 views)

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Putting the final touches on MMS interoperability for the big four US carriers.

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Effective immediately, customers can send and receive Picture Mail, Video Mail, Text Messaging, and Audio Clips directly from their phone to a T-Mobile, Sprint, Cingular and Verizon customer's picture capable phone.

Customers will only be billed for sending messages to other carrier's phones. There is no charge for receiving messages from other carrier phones, however customers must have a service plan associated with receiving this type of message in our network (i.e., text messaging, Picture Mail, Web, Casual usage plan etc.), and a device capable of receiving the message type.

The ability to inter-carrier exchange Picture Mail, Video Mail, Text Messaging, and Audio Clips further opens the window of opportunity for all carriers to sell messaging, Picture Mail etc to customers. The customer may soon have the power to message anyone they wish, anywhere.

Additional carriers will be rolled out into the Intercarrier service after this initial launch.

This strategy was accepted by North American carriers as the method of choice for messaging. Some limitations will be present at launch to receiving messages. Other carriers will have size limits to messages received in their network.

For some customers, if the message is too large to receive, the users will get a link they can forward to their email and view the message from a PC.