Ericsson has unveiled a mobile video-on-demand (VoD) service that it will market in partnership with telcos.
Called NuVu, it is an end-to-end service operated by Ericsson that is tightly integrated with a partner operator’s billing and customer relationship management systems. It offers subscribers a catalogue of 3,000 local and international TV and film titles.
Crucially, customers download content directly to their device at no additional data cost during off-peak network times where they can store it for offline viewing for up to 30 days. This helps to make NuVu more affordable for cost-conscious consumers.
"The launch of NuVu is a significant landmark for Ericsson and is uniquely positioned to help our operator customers to address a significant untapped market for video content," said Thorsten Sauer, head of broadcast and media services at Ericsson, in a statement on Tuesday.
Ericsson has already lined up its first operator customer in the form of Airtel Nigeria.
"One of the key advantages of NuVu is that customers will have the flexibility to enjoy a variety of entertaining content, including music videos, comedy, movie trailers, cartoons, sports among others on their mobile devices anytime, anywhere they desire," said Ahmed Mokhles, chief commercial officer at Airtel Nige ria.
The companies plan to launch NuVu in the first quarter of 2016.
"Africa has some of the highest mobile adoption rates globally, with ever-increasing levels of investment and infrastructure. However, downloading is currently preferred to streaming due to connectivity issues. We believe there is a huge opportunity to open a window to a world of content through mobile devices that may not otherwise be easily accessible," Sauer said.
"As one of the largest operators across Africa and the third-largest mobile operator in the world, Airtel is the perfect partner to help us launch NuVu," he continued. "We are very proud to launch NuVu in Africa and we look forward to rolling out this service to other markets over the coming year."
