Accelerating MMS adoption and usage

It's been nearly two years since Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS) were launched and usage is now beginning to grow, especially as less expensive embedded camera phones are coming to market. But usage has been unduly constrained by the poor user experience of initial MMS deployments. This became big news when end users realized they couldn't exchange pictures the way they show on TV commercials. In addition, usage has been constrained by the limited number of applications available.

Gazing into the future of mobile data services, a trend is evolving to use MMS for higher value applications. Operators only need to look at SMS to see why.  In addition to person-to-person messaging, SMS is now used for premium service delivery like news headlines, sports scores, weather and for voting on popular TV shows like "American Idol" or "Big Brother." Operators can use MMS to retain customers by offering new applications like postcards, entertainment, blogging and interactive TV, but it is critical that as these new services are deployed, they partner with vendors to design an optimum end user experience to drive data usage and increase revenues.

Today's barriers to MMS adoption include poor handset interoperability. Many users can't send messages to users with a different handset type, and if they do, what is received isn't what the sender intended. And with video- and music-capable handsets entering the market, the problem could get worse. Unfortunately, many subscribers learn about the glitches too late, making customer retention a challenge.

Another barrier is limited inter-carrier interoperability. Subscribers don't realize that the message they send from their provider won't necessarily be delivered to their friend whose service is hosted by another provider. In Europe, progress has been made with intra-country interoperability, but the majority of plans for both regional and global inter-carrier MMS interoperability are still on the drawing board. End users are left wondering why their text messages work but their MMS messages don't.

With such a low penetration of MMS-capable handsets today, operators need to extend the MMS community to the Internet, e-mail users and legacy handset users, so those who buy camera phones have more places to send pictures. Unfortunately, the user experience is usually broken in most services. E-mail users can't render MMS messages well, and in many cases, operators don't allow e-mail users to reply back to the MMS handset for fear of spam or inability to bill for these messages. In addition, legacy handset users can't render pictures at all, even though they may have a WAP browser that could display them.

These issues are so significant that to combat the problem, over 100 GSM operators have signed an agreement to collaborate on improving the MMS experience.(1) For MMS to be successful, operators should focus on eight key areas in their deployments:

1. Implementing inter-carrier interoperability now. As seen with some of the initial deployments (see figure 1 below), MMS interoperability will rapidly accelerate MMS usage like SMS interoperability did before. Consider using an "interoperability gateway service" to speed up time to market while planning direct connections to major operators. By striking a single deal with a gateway provider, an operator can connect to all other operators quickly and easily. This is the model that worked for SMS in North America. Regardless, a gateway will be necessary in the future to connect to smaller and foreign operators.

2. Launching application-to-person and push campaigns. MMS is a great channel for delivering marketing campaigns or information services to end users. Imagine for example a TV voting application where users can send their picture along with their comments. The TV station could then broadcast some of these pictures, encouraging even more voting. But these applications require a mobile messaging service center (MMSC) that can scale efficiently to thousands of messages per second. Most MMSCs currently cannot scale to meet this need (see figure 2 below). Operators should consider installing a second MMSC to handle application-to-person traffic without impacting the current service.

3. Optimizing multimedia content for any device. MMS content renders differently on different devices, and some handsets can't render all content types (for example, videos or MP3 music). Subscribers want to choose their handset without having to worry about interoperability with their friends' handsets. It's the provider's job to use an MMSC that can adapt messages and content for the target device (e.g. when sending a video clip to a non video handset, the video can be converted to an animation). And with interoperability across network types (GSM, CDMA, IDEN, or Internet e-mail), the operator must support adaptation between even more content types.

4. Using a single client and composer for all messaging. Whether it's text or multimedia, end users should not have to worry about technology (see figure 3 below). The right client should automatically route messages via SMS or MMS depending on pre-defined rules. This vastly improves the user experience. Users simply want to send a message. Imagine getting a picture message from someone and wanting to reply with text (e.g. "great picture"). Users should be able to simply reply, as opposed to having to close the MMS client, find the SMS client, compose a new message and then add the destination phone number.

5. Creating a legacy handset plan. Providers that don't have a MMSC that can deliver a quality user experience to legacy handsets are missing an opportunity. A good experience for the legacy handset owner not only eliminates complaints from both sender and receiver, but could also spark an interest in MMS, encouraging subscribers to upgrade their handset. Operators should include the text of the MMS in the SMS notification (so users have context for the message) and render pictures via the WAP browser on the phone.

6. Remembering that e-mail and the PC experience matter. There's more to MMS than what happens on the handset. Developing a comprehensive PC experience is also important. If e-mail recipients can't play audio clips on their PC or if messages come through as plain text with several attachments, the message's impact is lost. Be prepared to deliver messages with HTML rendering and offer a Web SMIL Player to e-mail users. By embracing legacy and e-mail users, operators do more than simply improve the end user experience. They can also extend the market to include very large communities that will accelerate uptake of MMS services.

7. Focusing on simple, value-based billing. Because MMS messages can vary greatly in size (for example: a 1K text message, a 10KB picture or a 100KB video clip), many operators offer complex pricing that is based on the size of the message. This protects the operator margins, but is confusing for the user, limiting adoption. Operators should instead consider billing on a value basis, based on the content type. For example, operators could have a price for pictures, another for audio clips, and another for video clips. This is simple for the user and still protects the operator margins. And of course, the service must be made available to both contract and prepaid users.

8. Blocking spam. The right MMSC delivers a good multimedia experience for e-mail users while blocking spam. It will also give operators more control so users can choose to receive and pay for e-mail messages, allowing operators to bill for inbound e-mail and prevent messaging abuse.

MMS is a great opportunity for providers to distinguish their service and create real brand value for their customers. For all operators, brand loyalty is vital. Like other consumer models, delivering brand value directly correlates to customer loyalty--and this loyalty means less churn and greater average revenue per user with lower marketing expenses. And with mobile number portability, the need to differentiate services is even more critical. Operators can stand out by following these tips:

• Get the customer experience right:

  Offer a single client for all messaging needs and minimize the number of clicks required to send a message. Ensure that multimedia content renders well on all devices, including PCs and legacy handsets.

• Launch services beyond basic person-to-person picture messaging:

  Be prepared to do more. MMS can be a vital marketing tool to help build the business while delivering valuable services to subscribers. MMS is a one-to-many service. From information services, weather alerts, sports, games and entertainment to marketing push campaigns and interactive television, MMS is a critical tool for differentiating an operator's service. 

• Differentiate with a standards-based service:

  Operators don't need a proprietary solution to differentiate. By focusing on the subscriber experience, a standards-based solution can get operators to market quickly. It will allow them to roll out new services more rapidly by giving them access to developers and content providers that won't have to learn a proprietary architecture. Finally, a standards-based solution protects your investment because you aren't locked into a single vendor.

Here are some examples of operators trying new ways to win with MMS:

• Billing by Content Type:

  Canada's Telus Mobility charges by content type. There is a price for text, for pictures and for audio clips. If users send a message with two pictures and one audio clip, they pay for 2 x pictures + 1 x audio clip. If a user sends a text message, they pay the same as a SMS (the text price). 

• Charging for MMS from Day 1:

  By working with End2End, Denmark's Sonofon has a MMS solution that they were able to launch in less than 60 days, including billing. Thanks to End2End's turnkey managed service, Sonofon's customers are able to send photo messages using a composer available on the Sonofon Web site. The site uses pictures from a personal gallery alongside animations delivered by Iceland-based ZooM Hf. The price of a multimedia message is 3 DKK (€ 0.40) for both postpaid and prepaid users--well below the average price level in Europe. MMS animations and other content services have premium prices. 

• Prepaid Billing:

  Vodacom in South Africa became the world's first operator to launch an MMS offering that serves both the mass prepaid market as well as the smaller--but lucrative--contract business preferred by wealthier corporate and business subscribers. The 'Live It Up with MMS' service offers a branded value experience such as MyPicture and MyLong Messages. Vodacom's prepaid packages, Vodago and 4U, now account for more than 90% of all new connections to the Vodacom network.(2)

• Centralized Deployment:

  One Latin American service provider with several operating companies in different countries wanted to centralize their messaging services to lower capital expenses and operational costs, bring new services to market faster and enhance the end-user experience for their customers. The challenge was engineering a single messaging platform to support each of the different domains but still retain the flexibility to brand each service locally, support billing in the local currency, and generate reports for each operating company. By using a single MMSC deployment, this service provider saved approximately 75% on overhead expenses and still was able to enjoy the required flexibility at the local level.

It is up to the industry to make sure MMS has a prosperous future. Selecting the right partners is the key to improving current services and providing new services. By focusing on enhancing the end user experience, MMS can deliver on its promise and succeed in generating handsome revenues for operators.

(1) GSM World press release

(2) Openwave Inside the Wave

Francisco Kattan is the director of product marketing at Openwave Systems. He can be reached at francisco.kattan@openwave.com.

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