Enables mobile operators to increase revenues from pre- and post-paid subscribers
Megisto Systems, Inc., a leading developer of subscriber services switches, today announced support for real-time and content charging for streaming video services. Megisto’s Mobile Services Delivery System (MSDS) Video Streaming solution offers mobile network operators a powerful solution for charging and control of real-time streaming media. Capabilities include pay-per-volume downloaded, pay-per-time viewed, subscription-based charging, time-sensitive media charging, and flexible service authentication. Megisto is working with video streaming technologies, such as those delivered by RealNetworks and Oplayo, to deliver broad support across multiple mobile devices.
“Video downloads have a shelf-life, depending on the content they contain,” said Gordon Saussy, CEO, Megisto Systems. “Brian Lara’s 400 not out or Barry Bonds’ 661st home run are record breaking achievements that will stand the test of time, but the value of the video download dramatically decreases within hours. Mobile operators are perfectly positioned to deliver premium content such as sporting highlights, film trailers and music videos direct to subscribers’ handsets. The challenge is charging in a way that reflects both the dynamic value of the content and the multitude of methods in which users can choose to interact with the content. Megisto’s MSDS Video Streaming solution gives operators the flexibility they need to deploy, support and charge for a wide range of streaming video and audio applications, opening up new high value revenue streams.”
Andy Bairsto, Principal Analyst at Chorleywood, commented: “As demand for video streaming services begins to grow, mobile operators will need to ensure they have adaptable solutions in place that can offer a range of charging models dependent both on the type of content and its audience. But in order to capture the mass consumer market, these (often complex) charging models must remain transparent to the user so that they enjoy the experience, have confidence in the service provider’s ability to charge them correctly for it, and come back to use the service again.”
Megisto’s MSDS offers a powerful solution for the charging and control of streaming media services. Specifically, the solution offers:
• Broad charging flexibility – The MSDS offers mobile operators broad flexibility in charging and control, including the ability to charge based on volume, event, time, and subscription.
• Single point of control and charging – With the MSDS, mobile operators can control and charge for streaming video services from a single point, working in conjunction with the operator billing and support system (BSS). This alleviates the billing and operations teams of the need to configure charging policies within a collection of BSS, network equipment, and content server infrastructure.
• Support for third party streaming services – With the MSDS, mobile operators can control and charge for not only limited, “walled garden” media services, but also for services hosted by third parties outside of their captive portals. This means they can provision and charge for video delivered by content partners that are already distributing video, hosted on existing technologies, without requiring that these partners port their video to a captive portal.
• Easier integration of multiple streaming servers – The MSDS allows mobile operators to use multiple streaming servers within their environment without having to integrate different mechanisms for control and charging for the services. This provides mobile operators with flexibility to migrate technologies and partners as their requirements evolve.
The MSDS Video Streaming solution supports streaming video content, initiated over WAP 1.x, WAP 2.0 and HTTP, transmitted over multiple channels, formats, and signaling standards – such as RTSP – and industry standard file formats for data compression, delivery and synchronization.