So far much of the discussions about mobile content have been about how mobile operators should attract and manage content provider partners. But if mobile content services are to be a true mass market success, users will need to be able to access and pay for content, billable to their mobiles, that sits outside operators’ portals.
The problem for many content providers is that the process of extracting value from the mobilisation of its content is far from straightfoward.
One company that is approaching the market from the content provider point of view is Echovox, which provides a managed service handling the necessary elements content providers need to reach market.
Founder and ceo David Marcus said that to put a solution together content creators would need to talk to a number of different players to address payments, digital rights management, content sourcing and device adaptation.
“One recent example is [TV company] M6 in France which has eight different partners” Marcus said.
“The weakness is that all the platforms and solutions are not integrated into a comprehensive infrastructure.”
Echovox’s i-con network interconnects up to 62 carriers, Marcus said, giving a content partner access to a host of operators.
As well as the carrier connectivity Echovox has built a hosted platform that contains all the elements a content provider needs to address the market. From this base Echovox is launching a range of products, from a self-provisioning mobile content storefront to a self-service premium SMS tool.