Broadcast for the Masses!

Russia ready to use broadcast information services

The considerable popularity in Russia of Short Message Services (SMS) attests to subscribers’ high confidence in text services and ensures significant revenue to all participants in the business-chain supplying these services. However, subscription does not only grow due to subscriber interest in Content Services, such as SMS. It is more and more the case that the new subscribers are people who will make use of content information only when it responds to their real needs and is somehow related to their lives “here and now." This principle of “here and now” is the base of the Cell Broadcast Service (CBS) ideology. CBS-based services open up new market segments for promoting Content Services and bring in new users - advertisers.

Broadcast in Europe: Issues of Promotion.

The main reason for insufficient market presence is found in the complexity of the value chain of formulating and offering service, receiving feedback and measuring result. The recommendations of the Cell Broadcast Forum contain a concept of organizing interaction between service users, network subscribers and those advertisers whose goods and services are to be promoted. The complexity of the value chain is not an issue in itself; more problematic is the fact that Content Provider companies, predominantly for the Wireless Service Providers (WSP), are an affiliated business of the WSP business structure itself (in Europe) and are thus also managed directly or otherwise by the WSP. Such structure does not lend itself to building more complex business relationships taking into account not only the WSP and the Service Provider needs but also the requirements from small Content Providers, whose interest is in placing information with local broadcast channels. Consequently, this will adversely affect revenue.

Thus, the use of CBS in Europe is limited to several areas:

• Emergency-services are the most distributed installation of Cell Broadcast application. See, for example, the latest contract of Logica with the Danish Government for 5,000 cells at a cost of $2.5 million. This links up all cellular phone WSPs in Denmark to provide warnings about terrorist acts, natural catastrophes, etc. The project is being financed jointly by the Ministries of Internal Affairs, Health, Transport, Public Works, and Economy (40% of the total cost) and the WSPs (60%).
• Programmes for increasing subscriber loyalty, which do not provide direct revenue, such as news about the weather, football scores and other sport events competitions results, information about traffic jams or about the closest points of payment, etc.
• Information about particular rate zones. This is transmitted also by Russian WSPs without use of Cell Broadcast Centre (CBC) through the Base Stations controllers.

The Potential for Broadcast in Russia

Let’s analyze now the situation in Russia. It shows a number of preconditions here suggesting that Cell Broadcast services have a promising future.

State of readiness of the business infrastructure . In Russia the providers are independent of the WSPs and are able to set their marketing and technical policy on their own. The WSPs, in turn, are ready to make their network resources available to providers for projects, which correspond to their own choice of ethical criteria. Practically everywhere WSPs view spamming (unsolicited messages) as something off limits, but Cell Broadcast cannot be considered as spam in the pure sense, insofar as the subscriber has a tool whereby he can limit or entirely reject Cell Broadcast messages in any form.

State of readiness of the technical infrastructure . Here the situation is more complex, since Cell Broadcast is not yet widespread in Russia as a technical solution. We are aware of only a few installations among Russian WSPs whose business permits them to spend money on solutions like this. At the same time at the federal level Cell Broadcast is viewed today only “as a possible application.” This is so not least of all because a clearly defined business-structure has not yet developed and it is not understood how this solution can bring in revenue.

State of readiness of subscribers for Cell Broadcast Services. In Russia a class of subscribers able and willing to pay for delivery of content that interests them has emerged, and this is encouraging.

It is obvious that during the initial phase in the development of Cell Broadcast it is necessary to promote it using the traditional promotion tools – television, radio, the press, and specialized publications. Moreover, the features are positioned as a service that is a free information delivery. The correct choice of a tool for promoting one or another information channel can substantially facilitate the definition of the consumer target audience. However, it is quite natural that as the Broadcast service gains in its popularity the WSP’s (or provider's) newly successful information channels can be used to promote their own services, as for example to provide information about Cell Broadcast channels that are available on a commercial basis. Promotion of other services, in particular voice services or services built on SMS and MMS transports, is also possible and is simplified by the way that modern handsets allow the user to manipulate information received from Broadcast channels to make further use of it. For example, the subscriber can save both the Broadcast message as a whole and the number containing the message in order to make a voice call on it or send a short message; he can also open a WAP session via the URL sent in the message. This considerably broadens the possibilities of CBS “in its pure form" even without usage of special applets working on the SIM card or the handset and which ensure complete interactivity for the service.

Localized services on Broadcast

Localization of content is an integral part of Cell Broadcast application. The broadcasting structure itself is organized in cells even when the entire coverage zone of the WSP is involved. It is precisely localization and the mass nature of the transport, which ensure the most efficient use of all the business potential of the transport and inclusion into the business-chain of a new source of revenue – the advertiser.

It should be mentioned that the use of the Broadcast resource requires management by the owner of the resource. Bercut is offering a well-designed interface which handles the allocation of the time-and-space resource of Broadcast and is an integral part of the mnCB Centre itself– a solution created to maintain Cell Broadcast traffic. The WSP needs a single point of management for the entire content traffic, and this instrument is easily integrated into SPACE (Service Provider Access Centre). It fully defines all the provider’s possibilities for rendering services, including Cell Broadcast applications, as well as the use of new transport for them.

Thanks to a simple and understandable interface, the provider is clearly aware of the limits of his possibilities and cannot exceed the authorization given to him by the system administrator.

Of course, strong providers who have a good team of programming specialists find it much more convenient to create the interface part on their own, and for that reason we also created a standard interface using SMPP5 over TCP/IP as the connection between the Cell Broadcast Centre and the provider. SMPP5 supports transmission over the mnCell Broadcast Centre, including the time-and-space characteristics of the communication from the provider.

Billing for Broadcast services

The CDR records in the mnCell Broadcast Centre are intended for evaluation of the traffic sent by the centre to the Broadcast Service Centre (BSC). The billing information is sufficiently complete and takes into account all the possible aspects of the service and the relations existing between the provider and the WSP:

• identifier of the provider;
• time of sending the message to the BSC;
• prescribed duration of the broadcast;
• identifier of the geographic zone of the broadcast;
• volume of data transmitted in bytes.

In order to avoid errors in billing due to network failures, the CDR records contain information about the following events:

• Normal completion of the broadcast
• Restart Indication – indication of BTS (Base Transceiver Station) restart
• Failure Indication – indication of failure in transmitting the message from СВС to BSC
• Break in connection between the controller and the mn СВ С entre
• Shut-off of the Cell Broadcast Service.

On the basis of this data, the WSP or the service-provider, maintaining the service on the WSP's network can perform full value billing for the messages sent out by the content-provider.

Examples of services using Broadcast

For a first approximation we can divide all the services offered via Cell Broadcast into two categories depending on whether the options available to subscribers are interactive or non-interactive.

Non-interactive features are there to inform subscribers about the services of the providers, the network capabilities in the given geographic zone, subscriber loyalty programmes and free services (weather forecasts, currency exchange rates, etc.). One of the methods, which may be considered to promote services based on Broadcast, is to send out jokes on one of the Broadcast channels and to announce the availability of the service in the mass media. The consumer audience in Russia for this category of information is sufficiently large, and the announcement of a free service can catch the attention of subscribers and educate them in the use of Cell Broadcast as a matter of principle.

Localized services can be concentrated in airports, train stations, metro stations, and large supermarkets, which have their own mini- or microcells. In this case one can broadcast information that is useful for the consumer. Promotion of the service becomes interesting as well for the source of the information: though this organization may not actually pay for the service, it makes available its advertising space to promote the service as a whole. In the given situation parity is maintained for all sides participating in the process: the subscriber receives useful information that is “anchored” to the place where he is located; the WSP and the provider can raise subscriber loyalty by offering him the possibility of using his mobile telephone to satisfy his vital needs; the content provider - train station, airport or supermarket – also enhances consumer loyalty and reduces the work load of its own information booths and help desks. Moreover, if he should wish to raise the frequency of addressing to his own resources, he can use the interactive possibilities of Cell Broadcast Service.

Thus, we have moved over to the second category, interactive Broadcast services. Interactive services in the given context completely depend on the technical features of the given handset and on the ability of the subscriber to use it. Of course, one should not imagine that all subscribers would know how to use the phone number or URL, which is given in a Cell Broadcast message. But the possibility is there and it should be used. Examples of implementation include:

• The interactive nature of Broadcast makes it possible to create and promote new services. For example, mobile games based on identifying the location of the subscriber provide him with new consumer choices: to join the game he only has to turn on “listening” on his handset while being connected to the Broadcast channel indicated by the provider. Moreover, the use of Broadcast significantly reduces incoming SMS traffic to the handsets, which can be advantageous for the WSP, since it reduces the load for the SMS Centre and signal channels. It is also advantageous for the provider of the service, since it reduces the expenses of the provider’s outgoing SMS traffic.
• Broadcast gives new life to services that are already significantly developed and bring tangible revenue to the WSP and provider, such as dating services, which can be promoted via Broadcast channels in places where subscriber activity is very high - discos, concert halls, places for receptions and parties, and venues of mass entertainment.

Interactivity in Broadcast services (JUST Broadcast and WAP Push with Broadcast application)

The higher degree of interactivity in Broadcast and the way it is integrated into other transports and network operations can be maintained only when an integrating element is used. As we have seen, the handset itself is not now able to perform this role. To be more precise, the functionality of the handset opens up the full possibilities of the service only to those subscribers who are well informed about the functions on their handset and inclined to use innovations and complex schemes for receiving services.

In order for the service to be widespread, it has to have an interface for interaction that is simple and understandable for the overwhelming majority of subscribers. We offer JUST, which, on the one hand, integrates all network capabilities of the interface and, on the other hand, is understandable for all categories of subscribers without additional instructions.

The level of revenue generated by services based on JUST today is comparable with revenues from logos and ring tones which, for the majority of WSPs not using JUST come to 80-90% of their profit from value added services. These figures are indicative and, in our view, provide food for thought. As regards multi-transport capability, JUST which is now available in commercial installations uses both SMS and USSD to deliver P2P traffic. One essential advantage is the convenience of using CBS: the end user does not have to enter the handset menu in order to find the service he needs. Moreover, the package of interactive CBS on offer can be changed all the time, with a view to providing those, which are most popular, meaning most profitable.

Browser capabilities, provide us with the basis to say the JUST Broadcast is a service prompting subscribers to address to services and is an effective instrument to promote services, as they make it possible to organize the subscriber’s access to all network services in a single interface using all kinds of transport. This all is combined with the JUST server functions having all transport interfaces and the experience of this solution commercial installations gained by us, when a well-designed interface for the subscriber to use services increase the traffic of the subscriber’s address to the services several times as much.

Promotion can be carried out via PUSH mailings with a point of entry into the promoted service. This scheme enhances subscriber’s loyalty and raises traffic for WSPs (the response rate reaches 30%), since all you have to do is push a button to activate the service. Inform-Mobil Ltd has made a study of the subscriber responses using PUSH mailings.

It should be noted, that not all subscribers like personalized delivery of messages whereby an advertisement appears on their telephone. Cell Broadcast solves this and the following issues:

• price-cutting of promotional campaigns
• enabling the subscriber to manage his subscription
• guaranteed time for delivery of messages to subscribers
• The subscriber can subscribe to one of the channels (information, entertainment, games, etc.) and include the subscription into the JUST menu. In this way any Broadcast message spotted by the identifier of the information channel is accepted by the JUST-applet on the SIM card and is reproduced on the handset screen.

Our company also offers subscribers the following channels.

Information:

• news. The latest news releases: if the subscriber is interested in news, he merely has to choose "Next” in his menu and he will receive all the news. In the long view, if there are local suppliers of news, it will be possible to offer local news, such as a cable television program schedule, information about sales discounts in stores, etc.
• weather.

Entertainment:

• jokes
• love letters
• interesting facts
• toasts
• quotations

The entertainment channel can serve as a good instrument for promoting all other services. When he has subscribed for jokes, the subscriber receives jokes, but by pressing the key on the handset he finds himself in an accompanying menu, which has links to other entertainment resources. This way subscriber loyalty is maintained and there is motivation to further traffic. Moreover, it is possible to suggest localized content to the subscriber, enabling him to receive information about the area where he is located.

Channel of personal information:

• horoscopes. One can select the horoscope following any of the subjects available
• interpreter of dreams. The subscriber can enter a word and receive its interpretation.

Chat channel:

• mobile chat. The subscriber sees a live correspondence in chat. By making his choice in the menu, he can send a message or write to someone privately.

Adult entertainment channel:

• erotic photos. By entering the menu, the subscriber can request information according to any of the rubrics in the service.

Our work in the area of interactive Broadcast is developing and we are now studying the question of initiating a WAP connection (WAP Push) using Cell Broadcast transport. As yet there is no clear answer regarding the possibility for such a service. The standards allow for implementation of such a service, but we will be able to speak about it only after we carry out tests on the WSP’s platform.

The development of Cell Broadcast in MMS Broadcast standards

The fact that Broadcast is a forward-looking and worthy of attention transport is clear as the third generation networks already have in place a standard which foresees MMS broadcast. 3GPP TS 23.246 is the technical specification, which defines the architecture of the service in 3G networks. 3GPP TR 23.846 is a description of the technical implementation of the service. The basic aim of the service is to raise the efficiency of using network and radio resources by having entire groups of users receive identical traffic. However, the standard itself has been extended; it provides not only for Broadcast services but also for so-called Multicast services, which are delivered to subscribers according to their personal subscription. Broadcast is constantly developing and in the opinion of designers and developers of the standards it is one of the most efficient transports of third generation networks. 3GPP2 is not lagging behind 3GPP and in its specifications it proposes a similar service.

The merits and shortcomings of Cell Broadcast

Merits:

• it is a standard transport for GSM and CDMA networks which is supported by producers of base equipment and terminals
• it solves the problem of mass content delivery to all network subscribers or to subscribers in a certain area
• it gives an opportunity of mass mailings, which imposes minimal load on the network, especially compared to P2P-traffic of SMS or USSD
• it provides simple localization of content which makes it possible to implement programs for promoting goods and services in a given geographic region at minimal expense
• localization of content is provided in combination with correctly applied time parameters for the broadcast, which makes it possible to define the target audience for users of the information and more precisely calculate the results of promotion

Shortcomings:

• it is complicated for the subscriber to manage the received content – he needs information on how to turn on one or another information channel on his handset
• it uses only one channel (50), the default channel on all handsets, which deprives the subscriber of choice and turns the service into spam
• feedback is absent, which means that evaluation of the effectiveness of applying broadcast is indirect
• the business-chain is complicated for formulating and delivering services, as well as for receiving and evaluating the results.