BroadJump adds Rhapsody option
to activation platform

By DUFFY HAYES
From CED Broadband Direct, August 19, 2002

Broadband service activation software provider BroadJump is looking to add even more value to their market-leading activation platform, and they're signing up content and application providers to the mix to provide operators with that added value.

The latest integration effort was announced with Listen.com. The company's Rhapsody digital music subscription service will be available as an embedded option in BroadJump's ControlWorks Activation Edition software platform. Service providers that adopt the platform will be able to engage the Rhapsody option or not, and will be able to place user prompts for the music service, registration information or player download directions either in the activation and set-up process, or strategically within the provider's broadband portal.

"Our partnerships with companies like Listen.com are about creating a technology relationship so that our platform is able to fulfill their service, and is integrated into their subscriber acquisition and registration process in a seamless way," explains Kenny Van Zant, BroadJump COO. "It basically lowers all of the barriers around getting the service rolled out because ... we can basically drop in the fulfillment of these types of services with these partners directly into the platform."

The Rhapsody subscription service is one of the more compelling music subscription services available over the Internet today, as it is the only service to provide consumers legal access to music from all five major record labels. Rhapsody allows users to stream songs from a library of more than 200,000 tracks for a flat rate monthly fee of around $10. It's also a service that can maximize a broadband connection, making it a good fit with the BroadJump platform.

In terms of securing new revenue from customers who sign up for the Rhapsody service, service providers who opt to include customer prompts in the installation process will need to still negotiate their own revenue-sharing deals with Listen.com, Van Zant says. BroadJump will simply be a facilitator, and will provide the technological integration necessary to frame such an agreement.

"Every (service provider) customer will have their own campaign about how to market the service," he adds. "The objective here for us is to lower the technical and business model barriers to entry, but not tie (our partners') hands about how to roll the service out. We're trying to be an enabler here. We get value when our platform is valued."

The latest Listen.com integration deal is part of BroadJump's larger ChannelDirect initiative, where content and application providers can have their services pre-integrated into the BroadJump activation platform. By making integration easy, BroadJump can add compelling services to its platform. At the same time, ChannelDirect partners can promote their services in front of a captive target audience, namely new users setting up their broadband connections for the first time.

Other recent ChannelDirect partners include FamilyCLICK, which offers integrated Internet content filtering services; McAfee for anti-virus and security applications; NCsoft for online gaming; and SwapDrive, which offers additional storage services.