MEX

weComm, the British software developer best known for powering Sky’s mobile TV application, has been granted an interesting patent relating to user experience. The patent is part of a portfolio covering the company’s Wave technology, which uses a modified version of the TCP/IP protocol known as MTP (mobile transmission protocol).

According to weComm, traditional TCP/IP connections are unsuited to the mobile environment because they are only able to assume transmission problems are the result of network congestion, and therefore slow down or speed up according to their perception of this blockage. Wireless networks, where traffic problems are more likely to be a result of a patchy signal, are more complex. MTP overcomes this by automatically varying the size and quality of transmission depending on the network conditions, prioritising different types of data and continuously monitoring bandwidth, error rates and latency.

The result is a more reliable connection, particularly for applications which rely on a continous stream of data, such as video or financial feeds. The technology really comes into its own when these elements are combined in a single service. For instance, in a betting application where a video stream may run alongside a high priority transaction, the Wave platform will ensure a bets is placed even if there are problems with the video connection.