3G multimedia solution specialist Dilithium Networks is launching what it claims as the world's first end-to-end ringback-tone solution, VT-Ring, jointly developed with SK C&C, a system integrator owned by SK Telecom.
Mitch Lewis, VP of marketing and product management at Dilithium Networks, says the solution allows both mobile and fixed-line operators to take advantage of increasingly popular mobile video services driven by the deployment of W-CDMA and HSPDA networks.
With the service, end-users can use a music video clip or their own video clip as their customized ringback tone. Lewis says the business case for video ringback-tone services is strong, as statistics show payback within six months. 'But to make it appeal to end-users, it has to be simple and easy to use. To this end, we have been putting a lot effort in integration, as well as addressing billing issues and reducing the call set-up time to one second.'
He noted that a lot of video calls take five to eight seconds to set up. 'By the time you set up the call, it would be too late for a video,' he says.
Lewis told the Show Daily that two Asian mobile operators - one in South Asia and the other in South Korea - have agreed to deploy the VT-Ring service, with commercial rollout scheduled by first quarter of next year. The company will also team up with Datang Mobile to develop video ringback-tone services based on TD-SCDMA technology next year. The company is carrying out live demonstration on video ringback tone services this week.