Flexible number service to give multiple line capability from one device

A new application unveiled by US messaging giant Movius Interactive Corporation at this week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is set to dramatically cut the number of devices people need to carry, as well as putting them firmly back in control of their communications and their lifestyles.

The Movius global launch of its Flexible Number Service (FNS) will let people who wish to keep their business and social lives apart do so without carrying multiple devices. FNS also has enormous potential in developing countries, where local entrepreneurs may operate several small-scale enterprises but cannot afford phones for each business they run.

FNS was developed out of another innovative concept from Movius known as Virtual Subscriber Service (VSS), which is now being trialled by a major operator in Africa. VSS gives a communications “identity” to the people on the planet – reckoned to be between one and three billion – who earn less than two dollars a day and therefore cannot afford to be part of the digital revolution.

With VSS, subscribers get a “virtual” number, which allows them to make calls and receive messages via the use of a PIN number. It will also give them access to services such as healthcare notices and electronic banking.

“When we began talking to people about VSS we were first thinking of just connecting the unconnected,” said Movius CTO John Boden.

“But there was such an instant demand from the people we were speaking to – customers and colleagues alike – that we soon realised that the concept of providing extra numbers appealed to the whole spectrum of the market and so the Flexible Number Service was born.

“The response to this latest development from our R and D teams has been, quite frankly, phenomenal, and we already have some world class operators not only showing interest but trying it out.”

This radical development from Movius comes just as the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) announced that it expects mobile cellular subscriptions to top five billion sometime during this year. According to the ITU, this will be driven by advanced services and handsets in developed countries and increased take-up of mobile health services and mobile banking in the developing world.

On Monday, the opening day of the Mobile World Congress, Movius had also previewed its answer to social networking “overload” – one of the major headaches faced by the likes of the Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter information society.

Movius showed its new, yet to be formally titled “Anything In, Anything Out” platform. This will not only allow the sender to control how he or she sends a message but, for the first time, lets the receiver choose how, when and how often they receive it.
 
“It’s true to say that social networking has transformed the way people communicate and is changing our lives every day,” said Movius CTO John Boden.

“But it is also creating its own challenges, and we are actually seeing some people cutting down on their social networking because they are just getting overloaded. What we are showing for the first time here in Barcelona is that we can put people back in control of their communications.”

Movius is headquartered in Atlanta in the United States. It is one of the leading players in messaging, collaboration and mobile media and works with carriers to increase ARPU (average revenue per user), reduce churn and increase market share through innovative value add applications.