Sprint and PacketVideo Collaborate to Deliver Wireless Video Applications to Consumers Via the Sprint PCS Wireless Web Companies Complete First 'Real-World' Application Testing in U.S.
SAN DIEGO and KANSAS CITY, Sep 25, 2000 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Sprint PCS (NYSE: PCS chart, msgs), the nation's fastest growing wireless service provider, and PacketVideo Corporation, the global leader in wireless media, today announced an agreement to deliver wireless video applications to consumers. This agreement resulted from the market research obtained from the first wireless video consumer trial in the United States, conducted earlier this year by Sprint PCS and PacketVideo.
Based on the success of the month-long trial conducted by the companies and the compelling demand for live applications, Sprint PCS and PacketVideo have agreed to collaborate on the delivery of applications such as live streaming video to the burgeoning U.S. wireless community. These new services, supported by PacketVideo's wireless media technology, will be transmitted over Sprint PCS' all-digital, all-PCS nationwide wireless network and will be accessible using a media-enabled personal digital assistant (PDA) and an Internet-ready Sprint PCS Phone.
"Sprint PCS led the industry with the introduction of Wireless Web last year. Now, via our agreement with PacketVideo, we're taking wireless technology to the next level," said Chip Novick, vice president, Consumer Marketing Strategic Business Unit for Sprint PCS. "As the fastest-growing wireless carrier in the United States, we continuously look for new ways to expand our service offerings. We are excited to pioneer this ground-breaking effort with PacketVideo to enable our customers to receive audio and video delivered over our expansive PCS network."
Later this year, Sprint PCS and PacketVideo will develop several initial commercial vertical market applications that feature live-camera, remote-viewing capabilities. For the business sector, live-camera, real-time security features are a natural product evolution. For the consumer sector, the trial participants embraced PacketVideo's 'Eye-on-My' product, which allows for viewing children at pre-school or performing nanny check-ins, as well as monitoring elderly care facilities or facilitating senior care home surveillance.
"We are pleased to partner with Sprint PCS to drive the wireless media market forward in the United States," said James Carol, CEO and co-founder of PacketVideo. "Through this relationship, we have been able to better understand the network impact of video over wireless, in addition to what types of multimedia service offerings consumers will be the most receptive to purchasing."
Under the terms of the alliance, the companies have agreed to collaborate with handset and infrastructure vendors to make video over wireless a reality. The companies have also agreed to explore additional consumer offerings, including 3G (third generation) applications over Sprint's high-speed (1xRTT) wireless network delivered to a next-generation, media-enabled mobile phone.
About Sprint PCS
Sprint PCS operates the largest 100 percent digital, 100 percent PCS nationwide wireless network in the United States, already serving the majority of the nation's metropolitan areas including more than 4,000 cities and communities across the country. Sprint PCS has licensed PCS coverage of nearly 270 million people in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For more information, visit the Sprint PCS web site at www.sprintpcs.com. Sprint PCS is a wholly-owned tracking group of Sprint Corporation trading on the NYSE under the symbol "PCS."
Sprint is a global communications company -- at the forefront of integrating long-distance, local and wireless communications services, and a large carrier of Internet traffic. Sprint built and operates the United States' first nationwide all-digital, fiber-optic network and is a leader in advanced data communications services. Sprint has $20 billion in annual revenues and serves more than 20 million business and residential customers.
About PacketVideo
PacketVideo is the global leader in wireless media. The company's award-winning MPEG-4 compliant encoding, distribution and decoding software enables content providers and carriers to deliver rich media, not just data, to mobile users anytime, anywhere over any digital wireless network. PacketVideo was recently included in the Red Herring 100 as one of fifty private companies whose products, services, or business models are most likely to change the world.
Founded in 1998, PacketVideo is based in San Diego, California, in the heart of "Telecom Valley." PacketVideo's investors include Credit Suisse First Boston, Intel Capital (Nasdaq: INTC chart, msgs), Nexus Group LLC, Philips (NYSE: PHG chart, msgs), QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM chart, msgs), Reuters Group PLC (Nasdaq: RTRSY chart, msgs), members of the Rockefeller family, Siemens Mustang Ventures, Sonera (HEX:SRA)(Nasdaq: SNRA chart, msgs), Sony Corporation of America, Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN chart, msgs), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX chart, msgs), and others. To learn more, visit www.packetvideo.com.
Note to Editors: PacketVideo and PacketVideo product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of PacketVideo Corporation. All other trade names and trademarks are the property of their holders.
Contact:
PacketVideo Corporation
Anjeanette Rettig, 858/731-5490
rettig@packetvideo.com
or
Sprint PCS
Kami Jowers, 816/559-5296
kjower01@mail.sprintpcs.com |
