Cingular Taps Real for Video Service

Cingular on Tuesday announced the availability of Cingular Video, a free service to subscribers of its high-speed data network. The deployment, which is the first commercial use of RealNetwork's Helix technology, would be available in the 16 markets currently served by the carrier's 3G UMTS/HSDPA network.

Real unveiled the Helix OnlineTV application last September, along with the announcement of Cingular's new service. Application development, hosting of the service and delivery of content is handled by Real, and the streaming video would be in Real Video or 3GPP format.

"Cingular's selection of Real to provide the foundation and delivery of its advanced video services is strong validation for the reliability and advanced capabilities of our Helix OnlineTV Platform," RealNetworks executive vice president John Giamatteo said in a statement.

Video clips would run approximately three to five minutes and content from 18 different channels would be available, including Cartoon Network, NBC, ESPN and HBO. While the service would be included with the $19.99 USD monthly 3G data charge, content from HBO would cost an additional $4.99 USD monthly.

Future plans for the service include music videos from Real Rhapsody, as well as concert programming optimized for mobile devices, Cingular said.

Other carriers offer similar services; Verizon VCast carries a $15 monthly fee, and Sprint Nextel charges $9.99 per month for its video package with a separate data plan required. Cingular had been offering MobiTV, but like Sprint Nextel, the service is $9.99 monthly and requires a data plan.

What remains to be seen, however, is if the American consumer is interested. While mobile video has been a hit outside of the United States, a recent survey indicated only about a quarter of wireless subscribers had any interest in such a feature.