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What is MMS? - a few pointers here

After SMS, Multimedia Messaging Service, MMS, is supposed to be the next big thing for mobile phone operators. But what, exactly, is MMS?

The easiest explanation I've found so far is Logica's White Paper which sets it out in pretty simple English.

Examples:

When will it be available?

Standardised MMS will begin to appear in Europe and the Americas in 2002. In Japan, it will be at the end of 2001. The first 3G network is due to be operational there by the end of 2001 with Logica supplying messaging infrastructure to the key operators.

What technologies does MMS depend on?

The thing that really makes MMS possible is the availability to the mobile telecommunications industry of broadband wireless channels. Just to give you an example of the difference broadband will make: second generation (2G) mobile phone networks at themoment can transmit just 9.6kbs (kb per second). Broadband (3G) networks will carry somewhere between 384 and 2000 kbs. That won't be until 2003 or after. But you won't have to wait that long for Multimedia Messaging because there are some interim (2.5G) technologies called GPRS and EDGE which, with transmission speeds of up to 384kbs, will enable most of the promise of MMS to be fulfilled much earlier. There's also a very nice, concise glossary of MMS terms, including such gems as:

MMSE The Multimedia Messaging Service Environment as defined by the 3G industry body, 3GPP.

MMSC The store and forward engine for delivering Multimedia messages.

MP3 Shorthand term for Motion Picture Engineering Group, layer 3. A format for downloading and storing music. File sizes are minimised by excluding specific audio frequencies such as those not perceptible by the human ear.

Packet switching Packet switching allows data to be sent and received across a mobile Internet network. It offers faster data speeds than are possible in fixed telecoms networks and much faster than in traditional circuit-switched GSM networks.

PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) A variant of the mobile phone offering enhanced keyboard and display and incorporating many palmtop-style features.

PIM (Personal Information Manager) A facility within MMS enabling users to manage, edit, delete, forward etc messages of all media types and messaging technology generations - from one mailbox.

SMS (Short Message Service) A text bearer for sending and receiving short alphanumeric messages over low bandwidth GSM applications.

And finally, after a list of "business opportunities" and "common mistakes" and "frequently asked questions" there's a neat little dictionary of SMS lingo, if you've managed to miss all the others on the Web!