AT&T Wireless Services and Cingular Wireless will offer intercarrier multimedia messaging service (MMS), allowing customers to exchange text, photos, music and video clips between the two carriers from their wireless phones.
While such an agreement was expected-Cingular is set to close its acquisition of AT&T Wireless by year-end-the announcement appears to be another step toward MMS interoperability. AT&T Wireless also has an intercarrier MMS agreement with T-Mobile USA, according to a T-Mobile spokesman.
Such relationships are key to boosting that segment of the wireless data industry, according to Alan Mosher, research director at analyst firm Probe Group. Mosher said a lack of interoperability among carriers was largely responsible for the slow initial uptake of short message service in the United States.
“It would seem to me to be obvious that, without interoperability, text messaging would still be in the dark ages,” said Mosher. “Without interoperability, the market gets narrowed down. There just isn’t enough access” for consumers.Mosher said he expects to see more MMS interoperability among carriers in the near future.
“I would think the carriers demonstrated by this announcement that they learned their lessons” during SMS’ early days, he said.
