CMG: Usability and trust key to wireless apps

CMG Wireless Data plans to offer solutions like multimedia messaging and unified messaging services that would leverage off the promise of 3G. Managing Director Frans Veen believes that full m-commerce will be a combination of easy navigation and trust, and that operators should play a key role by providing a trusted infrastructure and brokerage in the payment methods.

How do new technologies such as GPRS and 3G impact CMG?
These new technologies enable us to offer more advanced services like Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS) and Unified Messaging (UM). All our solutions are GPRS and 3G compliant.

What do you think the market potential for wireless services such as location-based services and mobile commerce are?

Mobile Location Services are a key differentiator for wireless operators, with huge market potential. Operators have already started offering information services, based on the location of the subscriber. More and more focus will shift from information services towards location-enabled mobile commerce and combinations of services.

Our vision of mobile location services expresses that useful location smart services can only be created when four conditions match in a certain moment. These conditions are user, demand, time and place. The functionality of the Wireless Service Broker has an essential role in the matching of these conditions.

A similar market potential is seen for mobile commerce, when subscribers can perform any kind of transaction anytime, anyplace and with any device. Again operators will play a differentiating role by offering a trusted infrastructure and brokerage in the payment methods.

What kind of potential do these technologies have?
CMG has recognised these potentials long ago and started developing a framework that serves the base for all necessary services for trusted transactions, centrally managed and billed. Existing products are the Pull and Push Service Broker where users can easily navigate through the offered services and set triggers and filters to receive personalised messages.

Brokerage plays an important role in the end-user experience and offers the operator means to differentiate his services portfolio. The same brokerage takes place in the new Location Service Broker, where any type of positioning technique can be matched to the desired accuracy of a service. No matter what or when an operator decides to use as positioning technique; services can be offered starting today.

CMG's Geo Module offers privacy for the end-user and enables the operator to offer services based on existing cell-id. As soon as more accurate techniques are introduced, the Location Service Broker will be able to use these if required by the application. End-users will value the result on their devices independent of the used bearer of technique.

Mobile commerce has started today with the same broker services, where banks and commercial applications are offered secure connections with the subscribers. In order to answer all security issues (Confidentiality, Authentication, Integrity, Non-repudiation) a PKI environment will be introduced. CMG will offer operators an end-to-end trusted environment without having to wait for WTLS Class 3 handsets.

Full m-commerce will be a combination of easy navigation and trust, making use of multimedia services and quick connections. The Wireless Service Broker Product Suite has the architecture and services to grow with the implemented infrastructure and available techniques. Operators are encouraged to make use of the currently available services to start generating revenue and to build experience.

The functionality that contributes to the offering of mature services are for instance brokerage, flexible billing, pre- and post-paid billing, management information tools, integration with other Wireless Service Broker products.

What's the outlook for CMG in the broadband and wireless mobile arena?
The outlook for CMG in the wireless arena is excellent. To date, CMG has delivered over 150 quality solutions to over 75 operators worldwide.

For example, [we expect] a lot of interest for our Multimedia Messaging Service Centre (MMSC). We will do MMS trials with several operators in the second part of this year. MMS is the next step after SMS. It enables sending and receiving of pictures, drawings and images, animations, audio and video content.

The interest for our MMSC is based on our excellent reputation of our Short Message Service Centre (SMSC). Seven out of 10 biggest operators worldwide use CMG¡'s SMSC. In Asia, operators like M1, Globe Telecom, Telkomsel, Digi and Celcom are using our SMSC. We also expect that WAP will take off.

Some of the new services CMG going to introduce the next 12 months:

Multimedia Messaging Service Centre (MMSC): MMS will bring full multimedia capabilities to mobile messaging. It enables sending and receiving of pictures, drawings and images, animations, audio and video content.

Query, Analysis and Reporting Platform, the commercial name is Business Tools„§, for turning massive raw data into information which in turn represents a valuable asset, because you just gained insight in the market. It allows for user profiling cross data-sources(?), which CMG considers to be the killer application for 2, 2.5 and 3G. The Business Tools seamlessly cooperates with the CMG Payment Broker, WAP, iMode,MMS and our Value Added Services.

Payment Broker㤠with SMS prepaid module allowing trusted M-Commerce adding instant value to prepaid subscribers. Further supports MMS, WAP, iMode, GPRS etc and again our Value Added Services.

Support for all forms of routing of messages, including distribution and SS7-offload over IP.

Single Anti-Spam and Virus Control Center for all Mobile data-sources protecting the Infrastructure investment as well as adding value to the full subscriber base.

Increase in certified CMG partners offering tested and trusted highly profitable premium services such as the well known CMG and Nets SMS-TV initiative. Other examples are
- partnership with Brightmail, enabling mobile network operators to block spam, viruses and other types of inappropriate content.
- Aersoft, enabling chatting world-wide.
The complete portfolio however is much broader. The CMG certification makes them near plug and play.

Location Service Broker and Secure Service Broker.

How does the Asia Pacific region compare to other parts of the world?
Developments in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong take place at about the same time as in Europe. Other Asian countries tend to follow later.

More about Top 20 Telecoms' Outlook.