Instant messaging (IM) is incredibly popular on the desktop, so why not in the wireless world? Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM), a presence-enabled messaging service that aims to extend the desktop IM experience to the mobile environment, would seem a logical trasnition. However, it is by no means that simple. While some concepts of desktop IM also apply to MIM, others are not compatible with the mobile environment and need to be re-engineered.

Evolution of the mobile instant messaging market

Recognising the potential of IM on a mobile device, however, operators and vendors started to work on a common technical specification for MIM a few years ago through the ‘Wireless Village’ initiative, which was later consolidated into the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA). With a working group specifically devoted to this issue the Alliance developed the Instant Messaging and Presence Server standards (IMPS) to make MIM a standards-based messaging service. In this way, different MIM services were on their way to interoperating.

More recently, the GSM Association launched an initiative to help operators roll out MIM services across their networks. This ‘Personal IM’ initiative is based on a framework that operators should follow with the objective to facilitate interoperability and reliability in their MIM services.

The most relevant standards affecting MIM at the moment are IMPS and SIP/SIMPLE. SIP/ SIMPLE is an extension of SIP to support instant messaging and presence. Both standards are today maintained by the OMA and it is quite likely that in the future the two will converge. Vendors should support both of them to make sure that their applications and offerings will be compatible with IMPS software clients and IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) software clients that include IM and VOIP functionalities based on SIP/SIMPLE. Interoperability will be one of the main drivers for the success of the MIM together with the right pricing model and ease of use.

It is clear that, together with the right pricing model and ease of use, interoperability will be one of the main drivers for the success of MIM. It is also important, however, to consider that existing IM communities could drive its success. Launching a MIM service that immediately allows subscribers to communicate with MSN, Yahoo, AOL and ICQ subscribers, creates stronger interest in potential users and will be crucial in facilitating the take-off of operator-delivered MIM services.

The good news is that operators, vendors and standards organisations are all now working together to drive the growth of MIM. The rewards for getting it right could be significant. According to a recent Portio Research report, the potential market size for MIM is vast: the number of subscribers using such services by 2012 estimated at around 250 million worldwide. For this forecast to be realised, however, some technical and social aspects have to be addressed first.

Delivering MIM

Let's begin with delivery. Providing Mobile Instant Messaging to a large community of subscribers requires having a reliable and scalable infrastructure in place that interacts with the software clients installed on the subscribers’ mobile phones.

This infrastructure can be installed either at the operator’s facilities or in an Application Service Provider data centre as it is based on IP protocol. All the software applications will interact with a server or a pool of servers that will handle all messaging transactions. To guarantee scalability, the number of servers can be increased at any stage to ensure an ever increasing subscriber base using MIM services.

Another interesting function based on IMPS/SSP protocol is the possibility to create multiple domains allowing different operators to offer their customers the possibility to communicate with users on other networks using MIM. This will be further enriched enabling users to communicate with fixed IM communities such as MSN, AOL, Yahoo and ICQ, using dedicated gateways installed in the operator’s facilities or in the Application Service Provider data centre.

The protocol between the mobile phone software application and the server is one of the main technical challenges to consider. Today we see multiple specifications with many MIM clients using IMPS/CSP protocol, while IMS-compatible clients use SIMPLE for IM and SIP for voice. For MIM server vendors to guarantee wider compatibility they should make their MIM applications capable of managing both protocols. They have to support IMPS/CSP and SIP/SIMPLE. In this way both families of MIM software clients could allow the subscribers to be part of the same big community.

Technological challenges

Delivery is not the only challenge. The mobile network environment is different from the desktop IM environment so we cannot assume that everything that worked in the desktop IM environment will work as well in the mobile environment.

Although today’s mobile phones are very advanced and feature rich, they do have certain, substantial limitations, such as: screen size, CPU performance and memory. Taking these limited resources into account, the challenge is to develop an appealing, easy-to-use MIM software application, with all the expected and familiar IM functionalities included.

The next element to consider is the network. In some markets, mobile broadband networks like HSxPA exist, that allow the transfer of large amounts of data in a short timeframe. In this case it is logical to consider an improved software client that leverages both broadband availability and VOIP functionalities. Subscribers can use MIM and place voice calls to other subscribers or to standard PSTN/PLMN phones using the same software solution.

But the majority of worldwide networks today, especially those outside Europe and Asia, do not provide subscribers with high-speed data rates and for this reason some features available in the fixed-IM environment have to be re-engineered in order to deliver effective MIM. For example, file transfer is different and is, in the case of MIM, not normally performed like an actual file transfer but more like delivering shared content. This allows users and operators to set up their own storage area where they can post pictures, music and other multimedia content while enabling the sharing of content with other individuals and groups in an IM or chat session. In this way bandwidth use can be optimised.

Social challenges

There are also a number of social problems. With the penetration of mobile phones now higher than PCs, it is logical to expect that the future potential number of subscribers to any MIM service will be much higher than subscriber numbers in the existing, large IM communities. In addition, simultaneous interoperability of the MIM environment with the online IM communities - MSN, Yahoo, AOL, ICQ - will incentivise subscribers increasingly to use MIM services.

Although mobile phone penetration has now reached very high levels globally, some markets having 100% penetration, only a relatively low percentage of the ‘global mobile subscriber base’ can be classed as sophisticated users. The vast majority of subscribers are basic service users and have limited technical skills - compared with PC users, per se - and so any technical knowledge required to use MIM will be a barrier to the service uptake. For this reason the real challenge is to simplify the service set-up and usage to make it easy to use even for people that are not technically skilled.
In order to simplify service access at a level suited to all users, it is important to distribute mobile phones with pre-loaded MIM software clients that can be pre-configured if the sales channel is through operator points of sale. Alternatively, if the mobile phone is not marketed through the operator’s retail shops, it should be possible to configure it remotely by the operator’s customer care team using an OTA message. At this early stage, the industry must not expect potential MIM subscribers to download appropriate, MIM enabling software/applications from a website.

A further mobile messaging environment issue that both operators and vendors must take into account with any increased use of MIM services is the threat posed by spam and viruses that are common today in the SMS and MMS domains. Here, network-based anti-spam/anti-virus solutions, such as the Filtering Engine from Jinny Software, will offer the optimum means of combating such malware threats before they reach a user’s handset. Such solutions are already available to fight this problem.

The importance of the pricing model

Finally we turn to the important issue of the pricing model. MIM’s success will typically be viral, with subscribers tending to enlarge their own MIM friends’ community, and once in place will use the MIM environment/service regularly to stay in touch with other MIM-enabled friends.

In order not to hinder service uptake therefore, pricing has to be tailored to avoid worrying the customer with hidden costs, or costs based on the number of messages sent, or the size of the data traffic. Bundles, flat or semi-flat tariffs, should be used. The harmonisation and convergence of MIM with other messaging services must come with a pricing model that is easy to understand and is part of a wider messaging pricing strategy. This, in turn, will encourage a rapid adoption and success of MIM across the global mobile subscriber base.

Future outlook

Mobile Instant Messaging will eventually be one of the standard services in the messaging portfolio offered by operators, together with SMS, MMS and other push-pull value added services. It will likely be offered like SMS/MMS with software applications pre-loaded and pre-configured within every mobile phone. Subscribers will have the possibility to communicate with MSN, Yahoo, AOL, and ICQ subscribers through gateways. Interconnection between different operator MIM subscriber communities will be a reality, allowing users to chat with other operator MIM subscribers in just the same way as today’s SMS and MMS messages can be exchanged between different networks.
SMS can be used to interact with the MIM community whenever the MIM software application is not installed in the customer’s mobile phone. This will benefit people with basic mobile phones that don’t have the requirements to run the software.

MIM will not only co-exist with the other messaging services but it will enrich and make any operator’s messaging portfolio more interesting and appealing, especially to the younger generation. The objective is to use MIM as a lever within the messaging portfolio to significantly contribute towards increased ARPU, and helping operators to achieve higher customer retention. The success of Mobile Instant Messaging also depends on interoperability and the possibility for subscribers to interact with other communities.

Jinny Software, through its Jinny Mobile Instant Messaging solution, is committed to providing the market with a solution that supports IMPS and SIMPLE standards, and gateway solutions linking to the major IM communities.