A team of electronic engineers at NUI Galway, has devised a text messaging system which can deliver independent information over the mobile phone network.
The development opens commercial opportunities for third parties to transmit specific information to subscribers without relying on the two mobile phone operators, Esat Digifone or Eircell, to source the information.
Information on stock prices, currency rates, GAA results, Lotto numbers, news and weather forecasts can be read on a mobile phone's short messaging service (SMS). The system is capable of allowing any organisation with access to real time information to extend that information service to their mobile clients.
The technology is based around a central PC server which automatically interrogates websites and stores a database of information sought by clients. The real time information can be transmitted on an hourly or three hourly basis to the client's mobile phone, depending on their specified requirements.
The new system was developed under the direction of Mr Liam Kilmartin of the Electronic Engineering Department at NUI Galway. The text messages can be read and transmitted on any standard mobile phone and there is also a facility for users to request information. For example, by simply sending a stock symbol from the mobile phone to the NUI Galway server, real time information about that stock can be automatically retrieved.
A linked voice-based system will also allow users to dial into the service, key in a PIN number and receive the necessary information through automated voice software.
Mr Kilmartin believes the new system will appeal to anyone seeking information on an ongoing basis. In particular, the push and pull aspect of data delivery and retrieval offers greater flexibility to clients who can tailor the service to fit their needs. For instance, a client could specify he or she only wants details of a stock price if it moves up or down by more than 5 per cent.
"At the moment the mobile phone operators are only interested in increasing voice subscribers, but over the years there will be huge growth in demand for data services information. Once the networks mature out of the voice stage, the network operators will be looking to new sources of revenue like this," Mr Kilmartin says.
The two-year project was supported by Esat Digifone which provided access to its network for development purposes and offered expert advice. It also received £40,000 funding under Enterprise Ireland's Strategic Research Programme.
Now the development team, comprising Mr Kilmartin and two graduate students, are meeting potential users to assess the system's commercial feasibility. So far, interested parties have included stockbroking firms and one US Internet-based financial information firm. Moves have also been made to establish intellectual property rights to the new system, though Mr Kilmartin admits this is difficult as the technology is software based.
The Galway research group is also investigating the use of Windows CE powered palm-top computers with GSM mobile phones, to provide subscribers with enhanced share price storage, graphing and analysis capabilities, based on the information contained within simple text messages.
