June 18, 2003
Ringback tones
Ringback tones are a fairly new and extremely popular service available to South Koreans for about $ 1.50 a month, allowing subscribers to select a limited number of sound clips or sound effects to replace the traditional ringing, according to Christine Nuzumto in a very interesting and thorough article for the WSJ. Let's say your friend calls you with his cell phone, instead of hearing the familiar ringing sound until you answer, he will hear Madonna's "American Life" instead, or a pre-recorded message such as Happy Birthday, or I love you. You can chose a specific ringback tone for a specific contact in your phone book or for different times of the day. (cf Color Rings Enables Further Wireless Personalization.
Ringback tones, called Color Ring, "were pioneered by SK Telecom, the largest mobile service operator in Korea and launched in April 2002 and quickly became so popular that SK Telecom had to scramble to keep up with demand", according to Brough Turner, Senior Vice President and CTO in an article entitled Changing the Sound of Telephony published in NMS Communications last Spring. NMS sells the technology for ringback service to SK Telecom.
Unlike ringtones which are downloaded and stored in a cell phone, ringback tones are stored in a server at a central telecom switch, so it works with any handset, reports Christine Nuzumto.
According to a Yankee Group study, South Korean wireless carriers collected a total of $91.4 million in ringback revenue last year. The Ringback tone service should be launched soon in China or Malaysia and in the U.S. and Europe by early 2004, per the WSJ.
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