Internet Payment eXchange service (IPX) is rapidly gaining ground among operators and developers throughout the world. IPX helps operators manage billing and payment for content.

It generates round the clock revenue for operators, mainly through a percentage or fixed fee per transaction, and is currently available in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany and Singapore.

Emunity, a Swedish provider of a mobile portal, SMS dating services and interactive teletext services, started using IPX to charge for its services in October.

Hans Becker, CEO of Emunity

Hans Becker, CEO of Emunity, explains the benefits: "We used to connect directly to operators' billing networks but now we have outsourced this service so that we can focus on our service offering and developing content. We've received good technical support for IPX. And by using the service we have a low entry barrier going to new markets."

The company is setting up service in Singapore within the next few weeks and planning to enter the German market in the near future.

IPX was launched in January 2003 and has experienced steady growth since then. Björn Zethraeus, General Manager Ericsson IPX, says: "IPX transaction volume is developing very nicely in Sweden and Singapore. The rise in volume increase reminds me of the hockey sticks curves we used to see during the IT boom. In Sweden we're heading towards one million transactions per month."

Zethraeus says: "In the last few months, we've also seen increased interest from the traditional customers, such as the daily papers, about launching new services using the IPX payment solution. Daily newspapers have launched classified advertisement sections where users can make purchases via IPX."

Ericsson's IPX makes charging for Mobile Internet feasible today. The service is geared towards content providers who want to use SMS, web and premium voice calls to receive content directly to their mobile phones.

Rather than signing costly agreements with numerous operators, content providers can use IPX with all operators with Ericsson pre-paid and billing systems.

Visit the IPX website.

Kendal von Sydow, Aimée Ravacon