RealNetwork Cuts Tunes into Ringtones & Ringback Tones on PCS

By Reporter Wireless and Mobile News on September 11, 2008 1:27 PM

RealNetwork also announced the global availability of Cutting Tune for mobile operators. Cutting Tune -- available for deployment in Q209 to mobile operators as an ASP service -- will enable mobile subscribers to select any portion of songs made available by content partners for their Ringtone (RT) or Ringback Tone (RBT), and is the first in the market to offer this functionality for Ringback Tones.

Cutting Tune provides a new way for mobile subscribers to personalize their mobile experience by selecting tracks from their mobile operator's music service and using their PC to turn those tracks into a custom RT or RBT. Subscribers can also "gift" their newly created RTs and RBTs to friends, further increasing the viral nature of RBT and revenue generating opportunities for mobile operators.

"Our partners continue to see strong demand for mobile services that allow subscribers to express their individuality," said Vern Poyner, senior vice president, TPS Americas & Global Operations for RealNetworks. "Cutting Tune provides an opportunity for mobile operators to capitalize on this demand and increase cross-selling opportunities by offering the ability to customize purchased tracks into unique RTs and -- for the first time -- RBTs, all through the carrier network."

Cutting Tune is a feature that can be added to a mobile operator's existing Real-powered music-on-demand, RT or RBT service. Once the operator has added the feature and secured necessary content licensing, its subscribers can use their PC to select certain songs from the online music service, choose any part of that song within the maximum length determined by the operator, and then download it over-the-air to the handset for a RT and/or designate it as an RBT, if licensed for such use by the content partners. Subscribers can add effects, like fade in/out, and can set a custom interval before the RT/RBT is repeated. The custom RBT will then work like a standard RBT, providing subscribers the ability to assign it to certain times of the day, or particular callers.

A pioneer in the wireless space, RealNetworks was the world's first RBT service provider with SK Telecom in May 2002, and subsequently the first US RBT service provider with Verizon Wireless in November 2004. Today, Real operates RBT services for more mobile subscribers than any other provider in the world. With more than 31.25 million active RBT subscribers worldwide and global adoption rates of 10.7%, the company continues to innovate and differentiate its RBT offerings.

Real's services are currently available through 88 different carriers in 44 countries worldwide, making them available to 884.3 million subscribers. Real offers mobile operators a comprehensive selection of mobile services including Music-On-Demand, Video-On-Demand, mobile games, personalization features such as RTs, RBTs and Multimedia Ringback Services, and messaging services.