Edge Wireless and Alcatel today announced the first North American deployment of the Alcatel Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS) system. Similar to short message service (SMS), the newly deployed system will enable Edge Wireless customers to send and receive real-time messages. Unlike SMS, however, MMS allows users to enhance messages with visual images, audio, and other rich content for personalization. Messages are received in a single entry, without the burden of attachments, making messaging services even simpler and more user-friendly than standard SMS.
The new MMS system does more than just enhanced messaging. The new technology not only allows multimedia messages to be sent from mobile phone to mobile phone, but is also capable of sending messages from e-mail to mobile phone and vice versa. This feature widens communication possibilities both for personal users and corporations alike.
"Alcatel's MMS system enables Edge Wireless to offer subscribers advanced multimedia messaging through their mobile phones for more interactive, expressive communication," said Eric Anderson, director of technology development, Edge Wireless. "Our customers told us they wanted the ability to send friends and colleagues enhanced live messaging, not only mobile to mobile, but Web to mobile and we listened. Alcatel impressively delivered this significant network upgrade in just a matter of weeks."
"Edge Wireless effectively continues to differentiate themselves from their competition by offering innovative, yet highly reliable, products and services to their customers," said Matthieu Cornillault, vice-president of Alcatel's mobile solutions activities in North America. "For Alcatel, this bolsters a strong relationship with a North American wireless service provider. We plan to make this the first of many successful wireless network upgrades here."
The Alcatel MMS system is interoperable with all mobile phone brands (both MMS-enabled and legacy phones), in pure mobile and web to mobile modes. Moreover, the system can be incorporated with other messaging applications, making use of a single MMBox storage component for all convergent voice and data messages.