A decade ago, many metro-based paging services started by 'riding' on the infrastructure of FM radio transmitters. Today, we are about to witness something which is quite the reverse - radio services riding on cellular phone infrastructure !

Sony Europe has teamed up with Finnish telecom service provider TeliaSonera to unveil the "world's first mobile music streaming service". Tentatively called the Personal Media Assistant (PMA), this service offers streaming personal music channels and playlists to mobile phones. With a choice of pre-defined music channels as well as creation of a customized channel.

TeliaSonera customers will be offered the PMA service any day now (Q2 of 2004). This will be followed by (what else ?) a roll-out of the service across Europe. (The title of the service has still not been decided.)

The PMA Service will run on GPRS/3G mobile networks. And news content will also be a part of the offerings.

Just another subscription based digital radio service?
The PMA service aims to provide a (anywhere, anytime) personalized music experience - offering a "next generation approach" to mobile phone entertainment. But how will it be different from what is already on offer ?

• Portals like Yahoo! & Rediff already offer subscription based digital radio services.
• The functional difference between mobile phones & PC's is rapidly disappearing.
• PDA's like PalmOne T600 already offer similar features with their pocket tunes.
• Servcies like Apple Computer's iTunes offer song downloads via web.
• And satellite radio service Worldspace offers similar digital radio services.

So what's really new that the PMA service is offering ?

Like all other digital radio services, the PMA service will offer a choice of music from independent record labels.
But unlike other services, the PMA subscriber will be able to 'play back' selections anytime and anywhere (because the mobile phone is carried in person.) Unlike the music download services (like iTunes), PMA service subscribers will not buy music titles - just play the tunes.
Further, unlike the music download services, PMA service will encourage sharing of songs with friends.
Also the PMA service will introduce a "flat fee" billing model for listening to music, local and international. And use the well-defined cell-phone billing route.

Technology
PMA can turn a mobile phone into a personal radio tuner playing pre-selected streams of music. (By browsing through a large collection of pre-defined music channels - or by creating their own customized channel based on the kind of music each wants, PMA service subscribers can store selected tracks in a personal playlist.) And of course, it is now almost mandatory to have "smart" software that learns about the subscriber's personal music tastes.

The PMA service is a Symbian based application that is designed to run on Series 60 and UIQ phones over GPRS/3G networks. And content is stored on a server, not on the mobile phone. Ostensibly to offer consumers "the entire music library" at their fingertips. (As much to help keep track of usage & billing !)

Fantasy
SWho will not like the idea of streaming Audio or streaming video with sound on their cellphone ? Of course, we have achieved this effect many times, by connecting our laptop to a mobile phone. But's its not the same to have it all in a single device. And at a reasonable price. With reasonable bandwidth for response. Et cetera, et cetera.

Meanwhile, let us dream on.