NEWS: MMU, Ericsson and TM building digital-home showcase

SMART DEAL: Guda (left) and Zaharin exchanging contracts at the MoU signing event in Cyberjaya. The ceremony was witnessed by TM Bhd chairman Datuk Dr Halim Shafie (middle).

CYBERJAYA: The Multimedia University (MMU) has inked a deal with Ericsson Malaysia and TM Research & Development (TM R&D) to set up a "digital home."

The "home" is an apartment-like setting on the university's premises that will showcase Ericsson Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) solutions.

Some of the cool features that visitors will able to see are home users simultaneously viewing a movie on an IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) system while chatting in realtime with other viewers via another part of the TV screen.

They will also be able to see how content such as videos and still images can be "pushed" from smartphones or some other portable device to the TV, and vice versa, at the push of a button.

Ericsson Malaysia said that IMS is an open-standards solution which enables seamless integration and interoperability across various devices and communications platforms.

These include 3G mobile services, wireline broadband access with WLAN (wireless local area network) endpoints, according to Krishnakumar Guda, president of Ericsson Malaysia.

Under the deal, Ericsson Malaysia will furnish the "home" with IMS-based equipment while TM R&D will provide system connectivity and its expertise in other relevant areas.

The showcase will be ready in a few weeks time, Guda said.

He said the partnership will also give students and university staff the opportunity to become IMS application developers.

"Commercially viable applications created by them can be distributed globally via the Ericsson eStore - an online marketplace with up to two billion potential customers worldwide," he said.

MMU president Prof Dr Zaharin Yusoff said this is an excellent opportunity for the students and staff to venture into application development, a skill with which they can earn international recognition and monetary rewards.

"At MMU, we believe in encouraging our students and staff to be innovators and to develop their talents. This latest collaboration opens up global avenues that will help achieve this goal," he added.