Cingular launches wireless micropayments

ATLANTA--Supercomm 2001 is right in Cingular Wireless’ back yard. So the carrier used this home-court advantage to announce a national rollout of its wireless micropayment solution, Cingular DirectBill.

Cingular is the first U.S. wireless carrier to offer a nationwide wireless micropayment billing service. Using technology from Qpass, a commerce service infrastructure provider, the service bills purchases made by wireless phones or from the Internet to a subscriber’s current Cingular bill. Cingular DirectBill enables subscribers to purchase low-cost digital goods such as customized ring tones for their handset, and have the charges for those goods appear monthly on their existing wireless phone bill.

The solution doesn’t require a credit card to pay for purchases, but instead purchases are billed directly to a customer’s current monthly Cingular Wireless bill. The service is free–consumers only pay for what they purchase. The new service is part of Cingular’s suite of m-commerce services, or “Wireless Wallet.”

“The best part of Cingular’s DirectBill is the consolidated bill feature that allows a customer to write one check to pay for wireless service and digital purchases,” said Steve Krom, Cingular Wireless vice president of data and Internet services.

What can customers buy via the DirectBill service? Cingular also introduced the availability of customized ringtones for its wireless subscribers. For 99¢ a tune, subscribers can download ditties by the likes of Britney, the Beatles and the Backstreet Boys. Subscribers can visit www.mywirelesswindow.com to select from a variety of ringtones and purchase their favorites via Cingular DirectBill.

Customers can review and track their Cingular DirectBill purchases on their monthly Cingular bill or online by accessing www.mywirelesswindow.com and entering a PIN code.

To access the service, subscribers need an Internet-enabled PC and an SMS-enabled handset. Most customers using Nokia handsets shipped since September 2000 can use Cingular DirectBill to purchase ringtones today.

Soon, subscribers will be able to purchase games, graphics and MP3s from a WAP or SMS-enabled handset. According to a spokesperson, Cingular also is exploring plans to offer convenience-type goods such as soft drinks and snacks from vending machines. In addition, toll booth and mass-transit payments also are being considered for this service.
Nikki Swartz is assistant data editor for Wireless Review. She can be reached at nikki_swartz@intertec.com.