A communications bargain

The end result is a surprisingly inexpensive data transfer medium. At current GPRS rates of P0.25 per kilobyte for data traffic, it would normally cost over P50.00 to send an e-mail with a 200kb file attachment from a GPRS-equipped mobile phone. Encoding a file bloats the actual size of the data transfer, and there would be incoming as well as outgoing packets to count. The total bill for the transaction could be well over P70.00. And yet, sending the file via MMS would cost you only P2.00 to P5.00.

The end result is that MMS can be more than just a “cool” way to send each other silly photos. For the mobile business user, it can be quite practical, not to mention economical. We’re living in the age of the Wi-Fi for example, but there isn’t a hotspot to be found everywhere just yet. The cellular phone network however, goes into nooks and crannies nationwide.

Say you’re working on a report away on a laptop away from your office, perhaps in a café somewhere. It’s 15 minutes to the deadline and the café you’re in is a long way from the nearest Wi-Fi hotspot or cybercafe. But no matter, you transfer the 100kb document from the laptop to your smart phone by a cable, infrared, or Bluetooth connection. Then you create an MMS message, address it to your office e-mail address, attach the document, and click on send. You’ve beat the deadline with many minutes to spare. There are probably better ways to spend five pesos, but right now I can’t think of any.

What about receiving documents back? It isn’t that simple to send a file from a PC to a mobile. But it’s possible in a roundabout way. Your office can transfer the file first to an MMS phone. From there, it can be sent to your own mobile. The rest is up to you.

For the mobile office, MMS can be a very powerful tool. But perhaps we shouldn’t rejoice too loudly, lest the telcos see the potential beyond the frivolous games, wallpapers, and polyphonic ringtones and decide to raise the rates.