AT&T's Collins talks LBS, music and MediaFLO

At Monday's Mobile Entertainment Live! conference, I had the chance to finally sit down and talk with Mark Collins, the new vice president of consumer data at AT&T Mobility. Collins, like his predecessor Jim Ryan, touts the mantra of being "all about the customer" when it comes to delivering entertainment content. And he says that the latest Napster Mobile deal fits into the vision.

AT&T launched Napster Mobile, an expansion of its partnership with digital music service provider Napster that promises subscribers over-the-air access to more than 5 million songs. Collins said that offering over-the-air downloads is not going to replace sideloading music, nor does it mean that people won't continue to manage their music online. "Over the air is a convenience factor," Collins said. "We are going to make it available, and people will go where it's best to manage it."

Like many operator content executives, Collins reiterated the fact that the mobile entertainment industry is still in its infancy and that "we haven't cracked the code yet" on the business model because consumers haven't expressed a willingness to pay for lots of content. He expects that the industry will end up with multiple business models.

Collins hinted at what is coming from the operator in terms of LBS applications. AT&T will launch navigation applications using LBS in first quarter 2008: Collins said the company will launch a white-label navigation solution as well as enabling navigation services from other firms. "Our solution doesn't have to be the end-all be-all."

When it comes to TV, AT&T is working closely with Qualcomm to ready its debut of broadcast TV using MediaFLO. Collins says the carrier is on schedule to launch in first quarter 2008 and is currently testing the system. He added that it will be different from Verizon's MediaFLO offering, called V CAST TV, because it will be a new service with new devices. "My intention is to make it different," Collins said. "We are actively engaged and testing the service."

Look for more coverage from the CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment show on our CTIA Live! portal. See our photos of Mark Collins, Quincy Jones and the after-parties (yeah, we might have caught you dancing on a table). -Sue