CTIA details ‘enhanced messaging’ functions

Cellular association CTIA released a document aimed at helping messaging companies develop interoperable EM (enhanced messaging) offerings.
The 67-page document addresses presence-enabled services and includes instructions on creating groups, allowing mobile marketers to more efficiently deploy cross-carrier text campaigns. The “Final Set of Uses Cases and Call Flows,” which is available for download in PDF form here, also address the delivery of multimedia messages to groups across carriers.
Enhanced messaging builds on traditional SMS by allowing users to integrate text, sound clips and animation with text messages, and includes presence, allowing users to determine whether another user is available, busy or away from the phone entirely. “All of the major U.S. carriers” are behind the effort, CTIA said, and EM products are expected to launch as early as the third quarter of 2009.
“Enhanced messaging communication has the potential to revolutionize mobile data communications,” said CTIA President Steve Largent. “Text messaging has long been a huge growth opportunity in mobile data communication, and we fully expect enhanced messaging to take it to the next level.”