For all the excitement around rich media mobile content, the fact remains that there is currently a 50 per cent chance that the user will not be able view the content at all. And if they are fortunate enough to do so, the quality of the picture or video is hardly guaranteed. So why aren’t operators tackling poor user experience? Answer: because it is not generating enough revenue to a priority.

Many of the poor quality issues stem from the lack of standardisation, interoperability and fierce competition between vendors. For example, a user sending picture messages to a friend on a different device to a different network runs the risk that the picture will be of poor quality or won’t arrive at all.  

This is not good enough when users base their quality of service for service expectations on their PC internet experience. As we know, there’s one PC standard (two with Macs) while our own terminal device database is currently over 2,000 in Europe alone. Despite these challenges, there are solutions available today, like our own, that offer the ability to adapt and optimise rich media content for individual mobile devices.

The US for video content can be improved with Bit Rate Adaptation, which adapts streaming in real time according to network conditions. So even if the network conditions change, the user does not get disconnected, and still receives a clear picture and excellent user experience. Several operators are investing in this technology with mobile viewing of the Euro 2008 football championships in mind. However, will we really stand around watching 90 minutes of footy on a screen the size of a thumbnail? Probably not, but the ability to put out short video clips, such as Euro 2008 goals as they happen, could help operators target advertising and products around the user’s interests.

The last point is crucial. With operators starting to investigate the revenue potential of ad-funded content, it’s imperative to deliver both ads and services in a reliable and high quality manner – whether via MMS, video or portals. It is my view that solving the overall problem hinges on the operators understanding the users need for a reliable, instantaneous, quality mobile service, which thankfully, is starting to happen.