The average consumer is generally looking for practical, useful information to help them go about their daily lives, everything ranging from places to eat, local entertainment and shopping options, where to find music of their liking on Saturday night or information about the municipality they’re in, especially if they are a visitor. Users can also find multi-media data that might promote services such as videos of stores or end-user supplied music videos of local groups or videos of local sporting events.
According to a February 2006 study by Gartner Research, consumers will “demand multichannel content” and that immediacy or uniqueness command a premium. Today ringtones, music and games are in high demand. Another market researcher, LogicaCMG, have found that news and sports are likely to “pick up a keen following.” Further, ninety percent of mobile phone users are influenced by marketing promotions of content proving that content is exciting for consumers and business. The same study cited that consumers want ease and speed of access that, in turn, indicates the need for network-based content storage. These studies reflect that consumers want to get the same content that they currently get from traditional sources while mobile. In other words, consumers want content roaming to help them go about their daily lives.
LastMile Communications enables others to deliver their content to where it needs to be consumed. LastMile provides the platform to deliver compelling and useful localized content through its media and content partners. Packagers of content will be able to make the right mix of popular and local consumer content available, for instance linking the common desire for downloadable music to finding live music being played nearby. Consumers will also find multi-media content promoting local businesses or other services such as videos of shops. Consumers themselves can be publishers of content whether the content might be consumer supplied music videos of local groups or videos of local sporting events.
LastMile is focused on delivering “information at the speed of need.” The current mobile model also depends on accessing and re-accessing information. Accessing real-time information such as full motion video at one’s fingertips is expensive to wireless operators and to consumers. Getting relevant local information, a view of a hotel or restaurant reviews when in a new city, for example, becomes a possibility instead of a dream.
