Info2cell.com, the leading wireless application service provider in the Middle East, has recently invested US$ 1.5 million in state-of-the-art Mobile Content Hosting and Delivery Management Systems in a move to consolidate its position in the region’s booming multimedia content market that is valued at US$ 50 million.
As the region’s biggest provider of flexible hosting services to local and international content providers, Info2cell.com offers direct and secure connections to 22 regional network operators, nearly 60 per cent of the total number of operators, providing potential access to up to 50 million mobile subscribers.
Powered by its mobile hosting facility at the Dubai Internet City, Info2cell.com delivers content through four main channels: SMS, Web, WAP and MMS. It offers hosting services based on multiple content interconnection, with real-time statistical feedback to content providers and 24 x 7 technical support as well as an advanced billing system. The hosting facility has attracted high profile content providers such as the BBC, Al Arabiya, AME.Info, Rotana and Mazzika.
“As a regional pioneer in mobile value added services, Info2cell.com has maintained its leadership position by continuously upgrading our technologies to enable local and global content providers to target mobile subscribers across the region,” said Bashar Dahabra, Founder and CEO, Info2cell.com. “We have developed the most advanced wireless platform to cater to the needs of the growing mobile value-added services market, including SMS messages, Ring-Tones, MMS messaging, Java games and other content.”
The market for mobile value-added services has been expanding exponentially in recent years. For example, the market for Ring-tones in Asia is set to grow to € 2.15 million in 2005, from € 1, 65 million in 2004, the highest projected growth around the globe. The Middle East is expected to be a vital contributor to this growth.
The US$ 2.5 million Wireless Application Service Provider (WASP) platform of Info2cell.com has been set up using Acotel expertise as well as in-house developed technologies utilising Sun, Oracle, Compaq, HP, Dell and open standards.
In addition to hosting services to major media companies and corporates, Info2cell.com provides hosting to many leading Java Games providers, including Infusio, Gameloft, Sound on web, Mobile vision, Fun-mobile and Bitside. It also provides support to on-demand request services either through WAP portals, SIM Tool Kit or advanced Java-based clients.
“As mobile penetration advances at a dramatic pace in the Middle East, the demand for advanced entertainment and business content is rising. As a result, global content providers are eyeing this promising market. Info2cell.com had entered the mobile content market in 1999 with the launch of the first Premium Alert Service for Fastlink in Jordan. Today, we are expanding our platform to provide the most reliable and complete hosting facility to content providers who wish to target this region for launching Premium SMS Services or any SMS-based application,” added Dahabra.
Info2cell.com, backed by the expertise of Acotel, the 4th largest European operator, offers a wide range of services relating to information content (news updates and general information), entertainment content (games, ring tones and images), multimedia content (MMS) and application content (chat, email, calendar and web to SMS). It can offer video and audio content in both push and pull models to suit customer requirements.
“A key benefit of our mobile hosting solution is that it offers content providers time to market savings of between 12 and 18 months,” said Dahabra. “It provides simplified billing procedures, allowing clients to use their existing billing interfaces while dealing with payments in different currencies.”
Info2cell.com uses two types of billing systems. In the Mobile Originated (MO) system, the bill amount gets deducted as soon as the customer sends a message to the server. In the Mobile Terminated (MT) system, the amount is deducted after the delivery of the requested software, content or application.
Another key element of the Info2cell.com’s multimedia content hosting service is the Digital Rights Management System that ensures that the content bought by a customer cannot be forwarded to another person. The system offers the highest levels of customer care as well as B2B support.
Info2cell.com also provides real-time statistics which enable clients to track customer demand for specific applications. The clients are able to monitor the exact number of users for each offering, such as ring-tones, and this enables them to introduce enhancements based on end-users’ feedback.
The new in-house developed platform has been designed to cater to the future applications of mobile phone technology, as it supports both GSM and GPRS. It also offers multi-lingual options, with a choice of languages that include Arabic, English, and French. The platform permits multiple subscription facilities using SMS, Web and WAP. Info2cell.com’s WASP ensures guaranteed uninterrupted service due to the leading edge systems that power the platform at Dubai Internet City.
Info2cell.com the region's first wireless information provider was established in 1998 to fulfil the need for wireless value added services. In the year 2000, Info2cell.com reengineered and redesigned its core business, to become effectively the first Wireless Application Service Provider (W-ASP) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The content provision model was also revamped with the addition of many content providers and channels.
The Acotel Group, a leading independent European Wireless Application Service Provider (WASP) and a multimedia service integrator, based in Rome, Italy, recently acquired Info2cell.com. Info2cell.com draws on the experience of Acotel in its service offering. Info2cell.com, which first launched its SMS breaking news service in Jordan in May 2001, quickly moved to expand to other markets in the region, and began similar services in Egypt in August 2001, UAE in November 2001 and Kuwait in January 2002.
The company headquarters are now located in the heart of the Middle-East technology hub at Dubai Internet City (DIC). The primary Development Center is in Amman Jordan, and editorial offices are located in Amman, Beirut, Cairo and Ramallah in Palestine. Mr. Dahabra can be contacted by email at dahabra@info2cell.com, phone +971 4 3912800, fax +971 4 3912822.
