Friday, May 30, 2008

Integra5 service relays caller ID, callbacks to cell phones

By Efrain Viscarolasaga

Woburn application developer Integra5 Inc. last week gave a sneak peak of a product that sends a caller-identification text message to a subscriber’s cell phone when someone calls his land line — and allows for a quick callback.

The application, unveiled at last week’s Cable Show in New Orleans, could help fixed-line service providers get into the wireless game while serving as a foundation for future Integra5 features aimed at social networking. Because it is based on text messages, it can cross carrier lines, allowing fixed-line providers access to customers’ mobile devices.
“It can make wireless part of a carrier’s abilities, even if they don’t offer a wireless service,” said Meredith Flynn-Ripley, CEO of Integra5.

While the company has already built a customer base by providing caller ID and short-message service (SMS) to televisions and PCs, the new application is Integra5’s first to incorporate wireless devices as an endpoint. Given the growth of interdevice activity in areas such as social networking, the new product is an important step in Integra5’s converged-services platform evolution.

“At a minimum, we will be moving our communications applications to incorporate social network elements,” Flynn-Ripley said.

While she would not provide details about the future, the addition of a wireless element makes things such as television-to-mobile coupons a possibility.

Social networking has already begun its penetration into the wireless world, with websites such as MySpace and Facebook offering wireless components, and the launch and growing popularity of pure-play mobile social networking applications such as Twitter or Utterz, which is operated by Maynard-based RPM Communications Inc.

According to a February report by Pyramid Research of Cambridge, mobility is becoming important in social networking. There are 530 million social network members worldwide, and by the end of 2012, 950 million users will access social networking sites via mobile devices, the report showed.

“Social networking is a big force right now,” said Flynn-Ripley. “Everyone is looking at making it part of the quad play (voice, data, video and wireless).”