Sigmaroc. Regulatory News (SRC)

14 Sep 2006 07:01

Messaging International Plc14 September 2006 Messaging International Plc / Market: AIM / Epic: MES / Sector: Technology 14 September 2006 Messaging International Plc ('the Company') New Mobile Messaging Patent Messaging International Plc, the AIM-traded provider of innovative messagingservices, has received a US and Canadian patent (patent no. 7,103,348), for itsMobile Station (MS) message selection identification system, which enables usersto seamlessly reply to messages across various messaging services. The Companyis currently looking at ways to exploit the strengths of the patent, includinglevying licensing fees on both current and future vendors. A European patentfor the method is pending. The method, already widely used, uniquely associates each message with a number,identifies the type of message, and enables the subscriber to reply or receivethe message across a variety of messaging services including email, SMS, MMS,voice phone services, or internet URLs. For example, a mobile email service mayallow a user to receive emails to his mobile phone as a text message, which hemay then reply to via a text. This text message can then be delivered to theoriginal sender as an email. The patent can identify the telephone line number on which the incoming messageis received and match the message to the telephone number of the subscriber.The quantity of numbers allocated can be limited and managed, enabling a singlenumber to be reused at any one time by millions of users. This providesconsiderable ease of use for the end user and cost savings to the operator. Messaging International CEO, Guy Levit, said: "This huge breakthrough for theCompany demonstrates our commitment to the sector and represents a significantstep in confirming Messaging International as a leading provider of messagingservices worldwide. The patent broadens our range of services, has the potentialto provide additional revenue streams and highlights our promise to investors toplay an integral role in the rapidly maturing messaging market." * * ENDS * * For further information visit www.telemessage.com or contact: Guy Levit Messaging International Plc Tel: +972 3 922 5252 Isabel Crossley St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 20 7242 447 Notes Messaging International Plc Messaging International Plc joined AIM in August 2005 with the objective ofbecoming a leading provider in the rapidly growing multimedia messaging market.Its 100% owned subsidiary, TeleMessage Ltd (www.telemessage.com), providescross-platform media messaging management systems and applications. These aredesigned to enable PC, browser, mobile phone and wireline telephone users tosend, receive and manage voice messages, email, text, IM and MMS across variousmedia platforms. It supports multiple languages, text to speech conversion,e-mail notification, unlimited text length, and direct reply to textcapabilities, all illustrating the uniqueness of the service. The Company has anumber of contracts with major blue chip companies including Rogers Wireless,the largest wireless provider in Canada. Further details to the patent: Mobile communications protocols, such as SMS and paging, allow for thetransmission of short text-only messages to a cellular telephone (mobile stationor MS). In the SMS protocol a telephone number may be attached to an SMSmessage that is sent to an MS, allowing the recipient of an SMS message to replyto the message, either by dialling the telephone number indicated, or, in someimplementations, simply by pressing the "SEND" button or otherwise initiating atelephone call from the MS without dialling the telephone number. In thoseimplementations that support it, initiating a telephone call while displaying anSMS message to which a telephone number has been attached will cause thetelephone number to be automatically dialled. Some commercial message services employ known computer telephony integration(CTI) techniques to enable a subscriber to receive voice mail, email, and othertypes of messages at a central computer server which then forwards notificationsof the arrival of such messages to the subscriber's MS in the form of SMSmessages. The SMS message may simply be a generic notification that a messagehas been received for the subscriber at the server, or may contain a portion ofthe message in a text format, aiding the subscriber in identifying the senderand/or determining the message's importance to the subscriber. In order to hearthe full message the subscriber may then call the message service by dialling atelephone number known to the subscriber or, where the telephone number of themessage service is attached to each SMS message, by pressing the "SEND" buttonor otherwise initiating the call as described above. Once the message service has been contacted, the subscriber must identify themessage that the subscriber wishes to hear. This may be done by reading thecontent of the SMS message to an operator or by navigating an automated menusystem that is responsive to voice commands or dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF)signals. In the case of an automated menu system, the subscriber generally mustlisten to a portion of each message received and then provide an indicationwhether or not the subscriber wishes to hear the complete message. Where tensof SMS message notifications are received at an MS, navigating such a menusystem is tedious and time-consuming. Messaging International's invention provides a system for identifying a messageselection made at an MS that overcomes the disadvantages described above. Asystem is provided whereby a unique telephone number is attached to each messagesent to an MS from a central server. Each number connects the subscriber to the central server along a differenttelephone line. When the subscriber presses the "SEND" button or otherwiseinitiates the call, the telephone number which is attached to thecurrently-displayed message is automatically dialled. By identifying the telephone number of the telephone line on which the incomingcall is received, and by identifying the telephone number of the subscriberusing automatic number identification (ANI) techniques, the server may identifythe message that is currently displayed on the subscriber's MS without receivingfurther input by the subscriber. The full message associated with the identified message may then be provided tothe subscriber via audio link. In this manner a subscriber may hear the fullmessage associated with a currently-displayed message simply by pressing the "SEND" button or otherwise initiating a call. Furthermore, the technology canuniquely associate a different inbound telephone number with each of a pluralityof messages destined for the MS. The technology of associating the subscriber's address identifier can beextended to a group consisting of a URL, an e-mail, an instant message, an SMS,an EMS, an MMS and a telephone number specifically associated with saidmessages.. Full details of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=7,103,348.PN.&OS=PN/7,103,348&RS=PN/7,103,348 . This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange