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Videos on the go
(Business Daily Update Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Author: dai Soccer-related video clips drew up to 100,000 mobile peer-to-peer (P2P) users to UUSEE on peak days during the month-long World Cup in Germany. UUSEE is a P2P video service provider that has extended its downloading service to the vast mobile handset user population. P2P, a network used for file sharing, relies on the bandwidth and computer power of participants rather than on servers, meaning the more users that are connected, the faster the download speed is. According to Beijing-based research house analysys, the number of P2P video service users in China is skyrocketing, thanks to 30 million broadband users in China. But, compared to the number of more than 410 million mobile users in China, this figure is still quite small. The problem with providing a P2P video service to mobile users is that, with the existing wireless connection network, the download speed is a maximum of 5 kilobytes per second. This is too low to support video clip downloads of normal sizes, ranging from 5 to 10 megabytes. UUSEE has come up with an alternative solution, which connects mobile handsets to PCs via a cable; special P2P software enables the video content to be downloaded onto the handsets. The mobile handset functions as external storage. To further its progress, UUSEE in May acquired Hoola, a wireless application research and development company. UUSEE has already formed partnership with several content providers, including television stations and professional studios. The content being accessed is mainly funny short video clips, which best fit mobile handsets. Xiangsheng, a Chinese traditional art form that resembles crosstalk, and promos of films, are ideal mobile content, says Li Chu, chief executive officer of UUSEE. Besides purchasing video content from studios, UUSEE also offers guidance for them on content production. "Screens of mobile handsets are very small, so we need to tell our content providers, for example, to make the characters larger, which may help readers to read," says Li. He says UUSEE will also work as a platform to integrate the video clips uploaded by individuals, and other users can download them. But co-operation with content providers is not enough, says Li, as the mobile industrial chain is less open compared to the traditional Internet industrial chain. "The chain has two dominant players, operators and handset makers," he says. "We need to adapt our video to the format and operating systems of every handset." UUSEE has reached deals with handset makers so more than 100 handsets support its video content. But, these are mainly domestic handsets. "UUSEE is also in talks with international handset makers Nokia and Motorola," he says. Ad revenues With its service free of charge, UUSEE derives its revenues from selling advertising slots to advertisers. The current price for advertising is 1 yuan (less than 13 US cents) per video clip. He says ads delivered to mobile handsets will be highly individualized, and ad content will be determined by and relevant to the content of the video clips. UUSEE's existing advertisers are mainly large companies promoting brand awareness among people. "Not every video clip contains ads because we have to consider the user experience, and the frequency is that one or two ads will be inserted every five ads," Li says. In spite of the existing exclusive reliance on ad revenues, Li does not exclude the possibility to charge a subscription fee in the future. "When the time is right, it is a choice," he says. Expecting 3G Li has high hopes for the upcoming third generation (3G) mobile technologies, which allows for a wireless downloading speed of up to 110 kilobytes per second. Li says the current experience of operating "semi-wireless" P2P video service will be very helpful when it comes to the 3G era. "By then, users just give cables away and install a P2P software in handsets to download video content from Internet as wireless connection will be fast enough," he says. "Except that, everything will be the same as what is now." He adds that 3G also allows large-sized file sharing between individual mobile handsets. "But, it is unclear whether the mobile operator will permit that," he says. "In terms technology, there is no problem for that." Li expects the wireless P2P video service market to take off in one year. Currently, USSEE has a team of 20 people engaging in wireless P2P applications, which is expected to double by the end of this year. "We need to get ready before the roll-out of 3G services," he says. The trial of the home-grown 3G standard TD-SCDMA in five Chinese cities is not going as well as expected, and it is reported that the end of the trial may be delayed until October. Without the success of TD-SCDMA, the 3G licence will not be issued, meaning Li may have to wait longer before the heyday of wireless P2P.
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