MINDS project establishes network with publishers and mobile operators The mobile media project MINDS will supply the European mobile network operators and publishers with a first set of standards and concepts for innovative mobile information services by the end of 2004. “We are already much further than originally planned”, said Meinolf Ellers, the Managing Director of dpa-infocom who is responsible for managing the overall project, adding that “we expect to launch a solution for publishers where regional newspapers, business media or local governments may realize their own service offerings for mobile handsets.“ MINDS is supported by an increasing number of mobile network operators and media houses in Europe. MINDS is funded by the European Commission through its program e-content. Members of the consortium are the national news agencies of Austria, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Together with the technical partners arvato systems/Bertelsmann, CoreMedia AG, Fraunhofer FOKUS and Ifra, the group develops innovative mobile media services. Moreover, the consortium will define standards that should be valid all over Europe. In this respect MINDS plans to establish a cooperative network with additional national news agencies. Only eight months after the project launch MINDS has realized the preconditions to enhance the development and the commercial success of new mobile media offerings. This includes the simplification of technical processes between newsrooms and mobile networks and feasible business models and contracts. The group has identified 12 innovative mobile services, tailored for the new 3G mobile technology. They will be developed within the next months under concrete market conditions. Among these service propositions are special mobile offerings for regional newspapers, which want to provide readers with local breaking news, sports livetickers or information about interesting classified ads. In the focus are also taylormade products for younger target groups such as local logos for mobile handsets or mobile event and party information. About CoreMedia:
CoreMedia (www.coremedia.com) develops cutting-edge solutions and offers professional services for Content Management Systems, multi-channel media distribution and digital rights management (DRM). As one of the first providers worldwide, CoreMedia offers a solution for the distribution, management and maintenance of digital rights for mobile content that is implemented according to the specifications as defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA). Founded in 1996, CoreMedia has over 100 employees and a network of over 450 trained consultants. The company serves over 100 leading players within the media, telecommunications, industry, finance, insurance and public service sectors including Continental, Deutsche Telekom, Debitel, o2, EPCOS, Nokia, SEAT, T-Mobile, T-Online, RWE, Wincor Nixdorf. The success of the CoreMedia Smart Content Technology is based on the open, capable architecture and the usage of open standards. |