Mobile users can now greet incoming callers with high fidelity music and audio instead of the common tones in use today

Coding Technologies, a provider of audio compression for mobile, digital broadcasting and the Internet, and SK Telecom, a mobile service provider in Korea, have successfully incorporated Coding Technologies’ aacPlus audio codec into SK Telecom’s Premium Color Ring Back Tone service (PCRBT) launched on March 13. The new aacPlus audio codec greatly improves the audio quality compared to the former service. The launch of SK Telecom’s PCRBT service constitutes a commercial proof of concept and is expected to impact the adoption of similar services in other countries. The first phone models supporting the new service are already available from vendors such as Motorola and Pantech.

Color Ring Back Tones allow mobile phone users to personalize their mobile phone service by selecting songs that callers hear when calling the user’s phone. Color Ring Back Tones are a much sought-after life-style accessory in the huge Asian markets with more than 12 million active users in South Korea.

"The use of Coding Technologies aacPlus in our new PCRBT service is integral to the quality of the offering and has enabled us to provide a dramatically enhanced and improved service," said JongTae Ihm, Vice President of Mobile Device & Access Network R&D Center, SK Telecom. "We believe that aacPlus is an excellent audio format capable of giving us this market advantage opportunity, and will expand it to 3G WCDMA market."

The introduction of Coding Technologies’ aacPlus in SK Telecom’s PCRBT service follows the signing of a development agreement between the two companies in 2006.

In this latest strengthening of the relationship between the two companies, Coding Technologies’ innovative high quality audio and high compression efficiency technology helps to grow the operator’s business. As a compelling service offering with significantly improved audio quality for the user, the new Premium Color Ring Back Tones are expected to provide new revenue generating opportunities for the operator.

"By applying our technology to its new Premium Color Ring Back Tone service, SK Telecom has once again shown its ability to innovate in order to define new standards in a fast-paced industry," said Martin Dietz, CEO & President, Coding Technologies. "We expect the results of our collaboration to generate new levels of user satisfaction and experiences. We look forward to continuing our creative partnership and driving further developments that will help to shape the telecom industry and SK Telecom’s future success."

Source: Coding Technologies