Cingular Wireless

CMWare names Jim Ryan president and CEO

Mon, 12 May 2008 06:59:56 -0400

Mobile media delivery solutions provider CMWare appointed wireless industry veteran Jim Ryan its president and CEO. The outspoken Ryan served as VP of consumer and business data for Cingular Wireless (now AT&T) from 2003 to 2007, supervising the operator's full-track music download service as well as the revamp of its mobile web platform. At present, he also serves as chairman of mobile marketing firm Mobile Campus. With Ryan at the helm, CMWare will introduce skyTuneZ, a hosted service enabling consumers to upload digital media from their PC to a personal online storage area for access and sharing over mobile devices. The skyTuneZ solution also allows users to upload pictures and videos captured via mobile for downloading and sharing.

For more on the Ryan appointment:
- read this release

MySpace, Textango partner for free music service

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 06:59:56 -0500

Social network service provider MySpace is teaming with mobile music firm Textango to launch an ad-supported music distribution channel. According to Adweek, the promotion will launch with the March release of veteran punk unit Pennywise's as-yet-untitled ninth studio LP. Listeners may circumvent traditional retail by visiting Textango's MySpace page, adding the company as a friend and downloading the Pennywise album for free. "This happens in a time when the record industry has such a black eye," said MySpace VP of marketing Josh Brooks. "It's a nice opportunity and a way to get your music out there." Brooks added that Pennywise typically sells between 60,000 and 100,000 albums, and MySpace anticipates at least that many free downloads.

For more on the MySpace/Textango partnership:
- read this Adweek article

Related articles:
T-Mobile USA befriends MySpace Mobile
Cingular launches MySpace Mobile
Vodafone, MySpace more than just friends
Report: MySpace Mobile leads social networking pack

AT&T CEO Sigman out, de la Vega in

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 06:59:59 -0400

Things really do come in threes: Days after the exits of Sprint Nextel CEO Gary Forsee and Jamba/Fox Mobile Entertainment head Lucy Hood, AT&T's president and CEO of wireless Stan Sigman announced his retirement Thursday, effective immediately. AT&T named COO Ralph de la Vega to fill Sigman's vacancy--de la Vega had been considered a front runner to replace Forsee at the helm of Sprint. A 42-year AT&T veteran, Sigman exits months after negotiating exclusive U.S. rights to Apple's iPhone--he was named president and CEO of the former Cingular Wireless in 2002 following the merger of SBC Communications and BellSouth.

For more on Sigman's resignation:
- read this CNNMoney article

Related articles:
AT&T plans mobile advertising push
AT&T sets Smart Limits
AT&T, eMusic team for mobile download service
AT&T, MediaFLO announce mobile TV deal

T-Mobile USA befriends MySpace Mobile

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 06:59:58 -0400

T-Mobile USA announced the addition of social networking service MySpace Mobile for the operator's popular Sidekick device. According to T-Mobile, the MySpace Mobile software is closely integrated with the Sidekick hardware, user interface and applications, with an emphasis on translating key features of the MySpace experience from PCs to handsets. MySpace Mobile features include a customized user interface that assembles messages, friend requests and comments into one home screen along with real-time updates like profile editing and photo management. "Innovating on our mobile platform is one of the most important initiatives for us," said Amit Kapur, MySpace VP of business development. "Given the high degree of MySpace and Sidekick usage overlap, we know our users will be thrilled to have this optimized experience."

For more on the T-Mobile/MySpace deal:
- read this release

Related articles:
Cingular launches MySpace Mobile
Vodafone, MySpace more than just friends
Report: MySpace Mobile leads social networking pack
T-Mobile announces 3G strategy

Does exclusivity pay?

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 07:00:00 -0400

Does exclusivity pay? I've asked numerous carriers and content executives this question a number of times over the past two years and I think I can confidently say the answer is no. I don't believe exclusive content delivers operators an edge. And I don't think consumers will churn from one carrier to another just because the operator has exclusive content they can't find elsewhere.

Why am I so confident in my opinion? Take a look at Cingular Video, now known as Cellular Video. When Cingular Video made its debut in December 2005 it was already about a year behind its competitors Sprint and Verizon in introducing a streaming video offering. Cingular smartly added something neither of its competitors had--exclusive content from HBO. And not just any content-the Cingular/HBO deal included snippets from the cable network's critically-acclaimed series such as "The Sopranos," "Entourage" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

Of course, the exclusive HBO content came with a price. Cingular (now AT&T) charges customers $19.99 per month for the basic content package and another $5 per month for the HBO content or $3 per month for the HBO family package that included cartoons and comedy clips.

I've heard AT&T also paid a hefty price to HBO to offer the content exclusively to its customers, but I'm fairly sure it hasn't reaped the rewards of that deal. After its initial marketing push in March 2006, when HBO launched the new season of its hit series "The Sopranos," I haven't heard much about Cellular Video or the HBO content. In fact, when I went the AT&T Web site to look for Cellular Video, it wasn't particularly easy to find.

I suspect uptake hasn't been strong. In interviews I've had with HBO executives and in those I've read in other publications, they have been lukewarm about the potential of mobile content. This is a far cry from other cable TV content providers which have been quick to add mobile executives to their content teams with the sole purpose of inking deals with mobile operators.

I think exclusive content may create an initial buzz and generate some excitement but in the long term I don't believe it translates into more usage or more customers for wireless carriers. Email me or post a comment and let me know your thoughts. -Sue

On The Hot Seat with Jim Ryan

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 10:48:00 -0400

FierceWireless' editor Brian Dolan recently caught up with Jim Ryan, the former vice president of consumer data services at Cingular Wireless. Mobile marketing firm Mobile Campus recently appointed Ryan as its new CEO. Read on to hear the former carrier executive discuss mobile marketing, the difficulties of mobile advertising and why campus security offerings won't work via SMS.

FierceWireless: Given your background running Cingular Wireless' data services, why did you choose to join Mobile Campus?

Ryan: I saw some significant incremental opportunities evolving in the mobile marketplace around targeting marketing offers to relevant segments that a lot of people weren't focused on. And to take a quality shot at doing mobile marketing, which is a different side of the same coin, for it to be effective it needs to be highly-targeted. And, sure, people say that and know that but they aren't doing that. Mobile Campus is focused on serving university students, who are really needy and ripe for the wireless market. We're focused on innovative means to target them. The old online model of “give me some stuff and you'll give me some ads” is a model that's breaking and is fundamentally flawed.

FierceWireless: Mobile Campus is taking on a big task. According to your website you offer interactive communications, info, entertainment and transactional services on the mobile platform.

Ryan: We're actually in the distribution business—we're going to go out and build the distribution channels to go out and serve the relationships with universities and local merchants to complete that ecosystem. We will partner with best-of-breed solutions providers for each of those areas. We're really not a tech play as much as a distribution play for that model. We have not announced [our solutions provider partners] as of yet. But we will be shortly.

FierceWireless: What is Mobile Campus' relationship with carriers?

Ryan: Carriers are our partners—we connect through aggregation partners to the carriers. We are in dialog with them to see what we might do in a strategic way. The university student population is quite a fertile ground and we provide a good opportunity for carriers to really reach this market. It can be a challenge for carriers, which are mass market providers, but we can target that segment and serve that segment and offer a university student an AT&T mobility account plus a Mobile Campus account.

Continue reading on the next page

FEATURE: On the Hot Seat with Jim Ryan

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 06:59:49 -0400

FierceWireless editor Brian Dolan recently caught up with Jim Ryan, the former vice president of consumer data services at Cingular Wireless. Mobile marketing firm Mobile Campus recently appointed Ryan as its new CEO. Read on to hear the former carrier executive discuss mobile marketing, the difficulties of mobile advertising and why campus security offerings won't work via SMS.

FierceWireless: Given your background running Cingular Wireless' data services, why did you choose to join Mobile Campus?

Ryan: I saw some significant incremental opportunities evolving in the mobile marketplace around targeting marketing offers to relevant segments that a lot of people weren't focused on. And to take a quality shot at doing mobile marketing, which is a different side of the same coin, for it to be effective it needs to be highly targeted. And, sure, people say that and know that but they aren't doing that. Mobile Campus is focused on serving university students, who are really needy and ripe for the wireless market. We're focused on innovative means to target them. The old online model of "give me some stuff and you'll give me some ads" is a model that's breaking and is fundamentally flawed.

Click here to continue reading this feature...

InfoSpace extends AT&T partnership

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 20:01:37 -0400

Mobile services platform provider InfoSpace announced the extension of a partnership with AT&T to power the carrier's MEdia Net service. InfoSpace will also continue to provide AT&T with customized mobile search and messaging solutions, as well as professional hosting and management services. InfoSpace first partnered with AT&T (the former Cingular Wireless) on MEdia Net in 2003.

"We're seeing an explosion of mobile services in the market and forward-thinking carriers like AT&T are starting to capitalize on the opportunity to offer customers a more streamlined, relevant and personalized user experience," said InfoSpace's mobile business unit executive VP Steve Elfman in a prepared statement. "AT&T has definitely been at the forefront of this movement and we look forward to expanding our longtime partnership as consumer demand continues to grow."

For more on the InfoSpace/AT&T partnership:
- read this release

Related articles:
- InfoSpace teams with Fast on mobile search
- InfoSpace launches mobile search for Sprint

Comcast planning multi-platform content service

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:01:37 -0400

Comcast acquired movie ticketing service Fandango, a move that will complement the cable provider's new Fancast service, which Comcast is touting as a one-stop programming resource spanning a range of platforms, including mobile. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, although analysts estimated the purchase price at $200 million.

Fancast, which has been in development for the past nine months, will enable Comcast subscribers to identify and access information on new films on multiple platforms--for example, consumers looking for screenings of the upcoming "Spider-Man 3" would receive movie times and locations as well as TV listings for other films in the franchise or other movies featuring "Spider-Man" star Tobey Maguire. Fancast will also pinpoint related mobile and Internet content. According to Comcast, subsequent iterations of the service will enable subscribers to remotely program their DVRs via mobile device.

For more on Fancast:
- read this Adweek article

Related article:
- Fandango teams with Cingular

VoiceIndigo teams with Samsung for podcasting

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 20:01:36 -0400

Mobile marketing service provider VoiceIndigo announced a worldwide partnership with Samsung to deliver podcasting to the electronics giant's mobile phones. Samsung Mobile Podcasts by VoiceIndigo will arrive preloaded on Samsung handsets beginning with the music-centric dual-face device UpStage, currently available from Sprint; according to VoiceIndigo, it is the first advertising-supported podcasting service to ship bundled on a phone from a major handset manufacturer and a U.S. major carrier. "Samsung Mobile Podcasts puts the consumer back in control by making it easy to obtain personally relevant and compelling programming on the go, from thousands of major content providers," said VoiceIndigo CEO John Mayerhofer in a prepared statement.

For more on the VoiceIndigo/Samsung agreement:
- read this release

Related articles:
- Cingular launches podcasting
- Alltel dials in podcasting