Placing a mobile video call is a nice idea – we’ve all seen the charming ads for the iPhone 4’s FaceTime app – but it’s not exactly seamless. You can’t just place a mobile video call in the same way you’d place a voice call. You have to download a third-party app and make sure the person you’re calling has the same app. You should probably route the call over Wi-Fi, since video chat tends to lag on 3G connections, and you have to make sure that your phone has a front- and rear-facing camera.
Aylus Networks is out to make mobile video calling a lot easier. Today, the company unveiled new technology at Mobile World Congress that incorporates a video chat option with the phone’s native voice functionality, so that video calls can be placed as easily as voice calls. The technology has been under development for some time and is now in commercial production. Subscribers simply place a voice call, and select an option to add video to the call. The service works across all networks and devices, as long as the phones have the necessary hardware to handle video chat.
Mark Edwards, CEO of Aylus Networks, says making mobile video calling easier for end users will help speed its adoption. The company has positioned its video calling platform as a freemium service for voice calls, a potentially attractive technology to operators looking to offset slumping voice revenues.
“Voice revenues are under pressure and declining due to competition and regulation. The industry needs to innovate and enrich communication sessions by adding new value-added services such as video calling, multi-way video calling, fixed-to-mobile video calling, video voice mail, and by connecting diverse communities of interest across different networks,” Edwards said in a the company’s announcement today.
The technology has been under development for some time and is now in commercial production. Edwards says Aylus is working to set up tests of the video calling platform with its Tier 1 operator customers.
Aylus video calling is part of the company’s real-time media switch and processing platform for operators and over-the-top service providers. The company’s platform also supports mobile broadcast and media sharing.