Mobile World Congress Roundup: RealNetworks Wins; MediaFLO's Lessons; Verizon 4G; Skype Demand
This story was written by Amanda Natividad.
Some highlights from day four at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona- the full stories are on our sister site mocoNews:
*RealNetworks* Wins *Verizon's* V Cast Business: RealNetworks (NSDQ: RNWK) unleashed a series of announcements, detailing a number of customer wins to demonstrate that its video and music platforms are starting to gain momentum. It is now powering Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless's V Cast streaming video service; V Cast was previously powered by thePlatform, a subsidiary of Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA). RealNetworks also deepened its entertainment deal with SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM), and is now rolling out its music on demand services via Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) in Europe. Full story here...
*Qualcomm's* MediaFLO Learns From The U.S. Market: Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) is rethinking how it operates its mobile TV service in the U.S. and is radically changing course for how it will approach the international market, according to an interview today with Qualcomm's Chem Assayag, who heads up business development for MediaFLO Technologies in Europe. He said rather than be a service provider in new markets, like MediaFLO is in the U.S. today, the company will play an integral role in bringing players to the table, and will only supply the technologyit will not buy spectrum, build towers, or source content. In addition, it will change the U.S. business from a subscription to a hybrid model, where most of the content is free and users pay to access additional content. More from the interview...
Verizon Wireless Details Its 4G Plans: Verizon's EVP and CTO Dick Lynch announced the details of the company's LTE plans, including which vendors they've chosen and how it will bring new devices to market. Lynch said that new devices that take advantage of this bandwidth will be the key to success. "But before a company invests millions of dollars," he asks, "how does Verizon bridge the gap about thinking about a LTE device and selling it? We are announcing today the formation of the LTE innovation center." More details here...
Skype To Carriers: You Need Us Too, Really: Carriers have traditionally ruled the roost in the mobile world, but when the iPhone came along, they were forced to concede that device makersor at least some of themwere as important as they were. Now, software providers are clamoring for the same status. Skype CEO Josh Silverman declared that it's "application providers like Skype that are driving demand for the next generation of access." The challenge for Skype, and all other mobile application providers for that matter, has been getting users comfortable with downloading applications onto their phones, a process that isn't always so simple. But Sol Trujillo, CEO of Australian carrier Telstra, was unconvinced. Full story here...
Lots more coverage at our Mobile World Congress channel
Photo Credit: Gaetan Lee
By Amanda Natividad