Mobile multimedia services

Mobile multimedia has been a goal for technologists and the mobile industry alike for some time, but now many components are coming together to make mobile multimedia a reality - mobile data networks, devices with colour screens, multimedia content, etc. This paper reviews the vision for mobile multimedia and describes a roadmap for its deployment, beginning in the here and now with SMS-based services and culminating in 3G services complemented by wireless LAN hot-spots. Since mobile technology alone cannot realise mobile multimedia, later sections of this paper also consider the importance of appropriate business models, value chains and billing. Some challenges to mobile multimedia are also discussed and some potential solutions and developments that may help to overcome them.