Sprint to bundle Orb media access with DSL

Sprint will offer its broadband customers a remote media access service from Orb Networks, the two companies plan to announce Monday.

The service allows users to remotely access media stored on home PCs from a Web browser. It requires a PC running the Windows XP or Windows Media Center operating systems and supports multimedia files such as video, audio, and images. It also adds an electronic program guide and access to live television if the PC is equipped with a TV tuner.

The service offered by Orb provides a front-end interface to the multimedia stored on the host PC and customizes it for delivery to devices such as other PCs, PDAs, or cell phones. Sprint will offer the service under the name Sprint Personal Media Link.

Orb first launched its own-brand service in January this year, based on a monthly subscription model. This was scrapped in late March in favor of a free service and hope that revenue would come from deals like the Sprint one announced Monday and other potential revenue streams, such as e-commerce and tie-ups with consumer electronics companies.

Perhaps not surprisingly the removal of fees caused service growth to increase, said Joe Harris, vice president of marketing at Orb.

"Going to free has really kicked things off but we know a small start-up is not going to drive a revolution on our own unless we do some big marketing, so working with partners is critical for our success," he said.

The company is also looking at e-commerce as an additional revenue stream and hopes to launch such a service in about two months, said Harris. Other possible revenue streams could include a commission from sales of downloaded music or promotions for television programs with money paid for each user that watches or records the program, he said.

Orb is also planning additional localization. A French language interface is available now and Japanese is coming soon.