M-Event
The M-Event application enables electronic tickets for an event (e.g. sporting, music, theatre, nightclub entry) to be delivered to the customer’s mobile phone. At the event, the ticket, which contains an Mcode, is scanned and validated to permit entrance. M-Event complements other ways of ticketing and operates in parallel.
System Operation
Before and, if required, during the event, tickets are on sale. Tickets can be bought using the mobile phone in much the same way as transport tickets are obtained in the M-Ticket application:
- Customer sends ticket code, e.g. RACE27, to the given short code.
- The mobile network routes the message to the Mobill Service Platform (MSP).
- The M-Event application works out which ticket is requested and how much it costs.
- M-Event communicates with the billing partner to make the appropriate charge, for example $20.00, to the customer’s mobile phone bill or prepay credit.
- The mobile carrier returns success and a receipt is sent to the customer. If payment is not granted, e.g. insufficient prepay credit, a failure message is sent to the customer.
Tickets can also be sold in other ways such as from a website, where the customer selects electronic ticket and enters mobile phone number for delivery. M-Gateway is used to send the electronic tickets:
- Customer mobile phone list is uploaded to M-Gateway.
- Event ticket text is entered.
- M-Gateway is used to send out the event tickets.
At the event entrance, tickets are checked using scanners, for example the Android Mobile Validator application.
- Customers opens the SMS ticket containing the Mcode and have their mobile phone screen ready for scanning
- Mobile phone screen is scanned
- Mcode is recognized and decoded.
- The scanner communicates with MSP. The Mcode is validated and the customer is allowed entry.
- The ticket is marked as “used”.