AT&T's Collins talks LBS, MediaFLO and more

Mark Collins, the new vice president of consumer data at AT&T Mobility is a firm believer in catering to the customer when it comes to data services.

During a one-on-one interview with FierceMobileContent, Collins said that the mobile entertainment industry is still in its infancy and that "we haven't cracked the code yet" on the business model because consumers haven't expressed a willingness to pay for lots of content.  He expects that the industry will end up with multiple business models.

Collins hinted at what is coming from the operator in terms of LBS applications. AT&T will launch navigation applications using LBS in first quarter 2008. While this is behind Collins said that the company will launch a white-label navigation solution as well as enabling navigation services from other firms. "Our solution doesn't have to be the end-all be-all."

When it comes to TV, AT&T is working closely with Qualcomm to ready its debut of broadcast TV using MediaFLO. Collins says the company is on schedule to launch in first quarter 2008 and is currently testing the system. He said that it will be different from Verizon's MediaFLO offering, called V CAST TV, because it will be a new service with new devices. "My intention is to make it different," Collins said. "We are actively engaged and testing the service." - Sue [1]