The first multimedia messages were sent last month between Beijing Mobile and Hong Kong CSL Ltd, as well as between Fujian Mobile and Hong Kong CSL Ltd.

They highlighted the inter-operability of MMS among different operators, according to David Ho, vice-president of Nokia Networks China.

"Nokia is delighted to extend its cooperative relationship with leading Chinese operators in providing new and enriched services to Chinese users, and we are really very proud to be the first to do so in this field in Asia," Ho said.

China has become the second largest market for Nokia, which has invested more than 2.3 billion euros (US$2.09 billion) and established over 20 representative offices, eight joint ventures and two global research and development centres in the country.

"I firmly believe MMS will do well in China, considering the staggering success of short messaging service (SMS) text messaging. It's very likely that MMS will further build on this path to lead the way to profit in 2.5G and 3G just as SMS has done in 2G," said Ho.

Statistics from the Ministry of Information Industry show that altogether 15.6 billion SMS messages were sent in the first quarter of this year, while 19.2 billion SMS messages were sent in the whole of last year.

"MMS is a natural evolution of SMS, and in addition to the familiar text content of SMS messages, MMS messages can contain images, graphics, voice, and audio clips, which can meet the broad needs of various user segments and, will rapidly evolve into a true mass-market service for both personal and professional use," Ho predicted.

MMS will be able to provide automatic, immediate delivery of personal multimedia messages from phone to phone or from phone to e-mail.

It is expected to drive the move to GPRS and data services. This would encourage the deployment of content like entertainment, information, gaming and mobile commerce, bringing added value to phone users and content providers alike.

Yu Xiaohan, sales director of Nokia Networks China, acknowledged it takes time to find ways to satisfy all parts of the value chain, though the MMS value chain is relatively short.

"Fortunately, all parties involved in the value chain have gained meaningful experience from the successful SMS business model," said Yu.

Ho said three important things have been taken into consideration in Nokia's MMS solution.

First, a global MMS standard must be built up, which will guarantee compatible interconnections among products of different manufacturers, and Nokia and China Mobile are cooperating to set such a standard.

Second, a simple charging method is important. The SMS charging method is expected to be adopted by MMS.

Third, a complete end-to-end solution should be worked out. The Symbian software platform will play such a role.

"In the second half of this year, half of Nokia's new mobile phones will be able to support MMS functions, while all new mobile phones next year will support MMS," said Ho.

Subscribers who do not yet possess an MMS terminal can also enjoy MMS messages, because MMS messages can be sent to e-mail recipients, and vice versa, according to Ho.

"Multimedia messaging is going to reshape the landscape of mobile communication, making it more personal, more versatile and more expressive than ever before; there is no one who will not be thrilled by it," Ho said.

(China Daily May 31, 2002)