Building on the success of the first edition, Mobile Messaging Technologies and Services offers extensive new and revised material based upon the latest research and industry developments. While early implementations targeted person-to-person messaging, MMS has now evolved to facilitate such requirements as the mass delivery of time-sensitive messages for content-to-person messaging. This Second Editionexploits the technical maturity of MMS as it is poised to generate a wealth of new business opportunities across the mobile communications sector. The author provides the fundamental technical background required for SMS, EMS and MMS, and supports this with industry cutting-edge developments.

• Contains a revised section on the fundamentals of MMS, including an updated section on GPRS to explain current commercial implementations such as GRX applications.
• Presents the latest developments in MMS standardization, including the design of synchronized multimedia integration language (SMIL) presentations, Digital Rights Management (DRM), transcoding techniques, postcard service and support of advanced multimedia formats.
• Describes the processes for standardizing telecommunications services and technologies (3GPP, OMA, GSM Association, IETF and W3C).
• Provides updated sections on SMS, EMS and heavily revised coverage of the developments in MMS, including MMS interworking and the forthcoming MMS version 1.3.

This resource will be invaluable for application developers, manufacturers, operators and content providers involved in the design and deployment of messaging services. It will also be of interest to practitioners involved in the process of standardizing telecommunications services and technologies. Postgraduate students and researchers will benefit from having access to state-of-the-art findings backed by numerous illustrative real-world examples.

Includes a companion website featuring information on relevant standards, available phones and developers’ resources.

“…a good introduction to GPRS…” (IEE Communications Engineer, February 2004)

“…target audience should find Daniel Ralph and Paul Graham’s book a useful addition to their office…” (M2 Best Books, 2004)

“…a very comprehensive guide…can be strongly recommended…” (EBU Technical Review, 20 July 2004)

MMS has evolved from the huge popularity of the SMS text service for GSM networks. It is a departure from the transport mechanism used for SMS (which is based on the GSM signalling channels) to the use of IP to transport messages within the MMS network. To this end MMS has similarities with Internet email and standard IETF protocols. As with any new technology it is difficult to accurately predict the position within the next 5 years, although based on previous experience with WAP and SMS it would be fair to say that these protocols will increase in usage over the next 5 years and become legacy for a further 5 years following which, users will migrate onto the next wave of messaging. Significant revenue growth and data usage is expected to be driven by consumer usage of MMS.

But MMS technology offers more than just a broadening of message content. With MMS, it is not only possible to send your multimedia messages from one phone to another, but also from phone to email, and vice versa. This feature dramatically increases the possibilities of mobile communication, both for private and corporate use.

Multimedia messaging will reshape the landscape of mobile communication, making it more personal, more versatile, and more expressive than ever before.

MMS:

• Is the first book to address how MMS (and the use of IP to transport messages) will affect existing infrastructure and business models
• Covers the fundamental changes to mail and billing systems
• Includes future recommendations, such as interoperability and evolution
• Presents an overview of the MMS technology components

Drawing on the authors hands-on experience in the implementation of MMS technology (developing, billing and delivering services) at BT, this innovative book will appeal to engineering managers, network operators, market analysts, business decision makers, content providers and operator organizations.