Community Based Application (When open innovation meets business)

: TV screens are everywhere in public places (bars, airports, shopping malls) and at home. At the same time, end users are increasingly bound to their mobile terminals, not only for phone usage, but also for applications and services. The mobile terminal becomes a personal agent of the user, containing personal data and applications. End users are also interested in community-based applications such as Web 2.0 applications [1]. Analysis of the needs for future TV content indicates a clear expectation from consumers for new personalised and interactive TV experiences [2] [3]. These allow consumers to be actively involved in a twoway dialogue that enables them to request specific personalised content based on their preferences while also being able to exchange information within their local and remote communities. In this context, The WellCom project was launched by Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs with the objective of improving significantly interactive TV technologies in order to simplify user choice and boost broadcast revenues. The intention was to involve all actors of the value chain: end-users, content providers, equipment manufacturers, telecom operators and broadcasters with the support of research organizations. 15 partners (Telenor, Telefonica, SES Astra, TF1, Pace, NXP,...) across 5 European countries (France, Spain, Luxembourg, Norway, Finland) were involved [4]. Technically, the WellCom project bridges TV screens, mobile phones, broadband access, multimedia content and community-based applications.