Aylus Networks announced the release of MediaCast, a technology platform and service that enables live video, audio and other files to stream simultaneously from mobile phones to Web, mobile and social networks.
MediaCast is currently being tested with Tier 1 mobile operators and is intended to increase a carrier’s ARPU, although a press release did not say how pricing for the service will be implemented.
The release of MediaCast comes amid a stream of operator-based platform releases that hope to facilitate and monetize the recent trend toward user-based, real-time content sharing. “MediaCast was developed to allow mobile operators to provide unique multimedia sharing services more efficiently than other products in the market, and at the same time, create new revenue opportunities,” commented Aashu Virmani, head of marketing for Aylus Networks.
Another company, NewBay, offers a suite of operator-based social networking aggregation software that targets the same market and offers similar features as MediaCast.
Previously such services have struggled for ways to offer seamless integration while also making the technology profitable. As smartphone capability and data rates increase, users are beginning to realize their phones are capable of sharing a whole lot more than just text messages. Carriers want their users to realize that sharing that extra content comes at a price.
Nagappan Arunachalam, chief marketing officer for NewBay, explained the different ways that his platform is paid for. “For our bit, we sell software licenses and offer customization to the carrier,” he said. “And then each carrier seems to offer it in a different way. For example, Vodafone has a dollar charge per day. If you use it more than five days in a month, they cap it at $5. Orange offers a bundle, and then there’s some that do micropayments or pay-as-you-go.”