Comverse, 9 Squared ring up ringbacks

Comverse Inc. said it is teaming with Jamba to power an off-deck ringback tone service for T-Mobile Germany.
The carrier will employ Comverse’s Fun Broker, an off-deck service that allows content providers to sell ringback tones directly through their portals. The move allows T-Mobile to leverage Jamba’s content portfolio and distribution channels, said Jamba COO Lee Fenton, without pouring resources into marketing the content.
“Operators have too much to do already to successfully take on the entire burden of constant promotion of ringback tones,” said Jamba CEO Lee Fenton.
Meanwhile, Denver-based mobile music company 9 Squared unveiled an exclusive deal to offer ringtones from independent music company KOCH Entertainment. The Zed Group subsidiary said it secured exclusive rights to distribute ringbacks from KOCH’s portfolio to its carrier customers including AT&T Mobility, Alltel Wireless and Cricket Communications.
Ringbacks-audio content that a caller hears instead of a traditional ring before the person being called picks up the phone-appear to be gaining traction even as the ringtone market shrinks. The number of U.S. ringback subscribers tripled last year, according to M:Metrics, and IDC predicts 40 million mobile users worldwide will subscribe to ringback tones by 2010.