Mobile News of Interest

Just a few items of interest this week:

• AT&T revises data and messaging plan - Most notably MediaMax dropped $5 to $35, added two messaging bundles at $5 and $15 price points, three enterprise plans for iPhone users, and cut its $80 Data Connect Plan from unlimited plan to 5GB (at least they are upfront about it unlike Verizon).



• 700 MHz Auction - After the first week bids are already up to $3.7 billion. The 700 MHz spectrum is becoming available from the mandatory conversion from analog to digital television in 2009. Many of the participants are expected to launch a variety of services from high speed wireless data to mobile television.



• Phone companies on track for lawsuit protection - The top carriers are lobbying hard for protection from participation in President Bush's warrantless wiretap program following the events of 9/11. This kind of legislation is just one more step towards a police state by allowing the government to spy on nearly anyone at anytime. Might want to write you representatives on this one if you haven't done so already.



• Short Codes and Text Messaging Under Review - The FCC is reviewing whether carriers can block access to their networks from companies using short codes, which currently require carrier approval, under the non-discrimination provisions of the telecommunications act.
  

Comments

[Grace Saad]

Thought you might be interested in some news in the VoIP, wireless and mobile advertising space:

Yesterday Talkster, a Voice 2.0 company that offers ad-supported long distance, conference and group calls to 30 countries globally, announced a partnership with advertising services firm VoodooVox, to supply local, targeted ads in support of free telephony services to Talkster users.

Ad-supported content is making a huge impact globally. A recent study by the Mobile Marketing Association shows that most Europeans are open to receiving ads in exchange for free content or services, and in Asia-Pacific, slated to be the largest mobile market in the world in five years, customers have been downloading mobile content at astounding rates. This audience is driven by the youth demographic, often the hardest to reach for advertisers.

While, Talkster already offers ad-supported calls to users around the globe, through a partnership with VoodooVox, the users of the free long distance, conference and group calling service will receive targeted 10-second audio messages that can be modified on demand. This offers a great opportunity for marketers to target the growing mobile audience with relevant, demographic-based messages, making telephony free for anyone from any phone.

For advertisers, this is huge. Talkster will leverage VoodooVox’s In-Call network, which already supports 250 million calls worldwide, to select locally-significant advertisements to deliver to its users, based on the marketer’s preset target. This partnership will create an opportunity for advertisers to reach the enormous captive audience the mobile platform provides, proving that the ad-supported business model is here to stay.

This development can also be examined as an example for VoIP, telephony and wireless providers worldwide: free services for customers, locally-significant, targeted messages provided to engaged audiences for advertisers and an increased and even more satisfied user base for Talkster. It is a win-win for all involved.

For more information, or to view the full release, visit Talkster’s online press kit at http://www.talkster.mobilitypr.com.

[moz]

This is nice information. Thanks