Comments on: Should We Just Give Up On Mobile Data and Content?

By: Ben

Ben — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 03:48:39 +0000

As a consumer, I have given up on content on the mobile and just use it to make calls.
I think we are a still a long wall with the current infrastructure and mobile phones currently on the market. Give it a couple of years when the next generation mobile pda are available with faster speeds and greater storage, prices will come down and you will see the advertising being redirected away from television and into mobile content.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 04:46:44 +0000

Don’t forget to add a camera capability with an app that reads/decodes “most” barcodes…

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 21:34:05 +0000

The telcos should stick to building out reliable and speedy networks. Although, Cingular is my mobile carrier, I rarely go to the MEDIAnet home page. As a user of their services, I simply am not interested in downloading ringtones, wallpapers and games. I tend to use my phone for mobile Internet browsing more than for talking–that browsing does not include starting from a portal.

One thing that the telcos and their cohorts get hung up on is monetizing digital content (music, video, news, etc.). It seems they have not learned that John and Sue Public will not pay for content that can be obtained for free somewhere. Internet history is filled with a long list of entrepeneurs and companies who thought they could make a killing on charging money for content. Contrary to their expectations, John and Sue Public refused to support their flawed thinking by paying for the content offered through their Web sites.

My wish list from the telcos: fast and reliable mobile broadband service, mobile phones that are easy to set up and use, and lastly, plan pricing that makes it easy to compare pricing from the different carriers.

By: Carlo Longino

Carlo Longino — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 13:59:38 +0000

There’s a lot more that operators can do beyond just offering data pipes, and a lot of ways they can add value, and charge for their services (ie be a “smart bit pipe” that people refer to). Doing things like providing billing and payments systems, serving up location data, sharing all the information they have about their users with advertisers (in a reasonable way, of course) — basically empowering the success of content and service providers, and taking a small cut for providing value-added services, rather than controlling things from end-to-end and stifling growth.

By: Tim

Tim — Sun, 04 Jun 2006 06:12:33 +0000

I will play Devil’s advocate – where is the money? You are asking mobile operators to provide flat rate data caps at reasonable (and decreasing prices), so effectively a utility pipe provider. Then you also want them to invest in creating some ecosystem? Did ISP’s ever do this – NO.

With plans like 1GB for under US$50.00 appearing round the world I would argue that operators have done the job – the cheap data is there!

Now it is up to the rest of you to do your thing and stop asking the operators for handouts and freebies…

But where is the money for operators? I can’t see the revenue to justify investment in HSDPA/CDMA RevA, let alone whatever comes next…

By: bradley

bradley — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 15:49:56 +0000

Just good plain common sense. Give Carlo (and hell… Russell as well) a directorship on the board of any operator and lets have one steer in this direction. Carlo, do you have the GCSE in woodwork needed to get the job?

However, … but…and….

You have to understand that the mobile space is private property and people like me are trying to pitch a tent in someone elses back garden and sell their wares.

Operators, for all the hate I give them, and trust me I could feel stadiums with my hate… are not at fault…

If anyone cares to remember… UK PLC (or was it Cool Britainia) sold this private land to these ‘prospectors’ for (roughly) a million-trillion dollars…. of course this lead to big walls being built. I’m surprised we have the access we do.

If only Tony Blair and Co would give some of that money back (or re assign) and deman the walls to be brought down and that they grant limitless access will we get the most out of mobile data ad mobile tools.

By: Gabriel Brown

Gabriel Brown — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 09:03:11 +0000

The hot services will come from the Internet side — and mobile will be a complement.

It would be cool if location could be extracted from mobile networks and used in third-party applications.

By: David G.W. Birch

David G.W. Birch — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 04:41:16 +0000

“If you are a telco person, its cool to deal with media types, record labels, games etc. so you tend to rationalize that – rather than just providing a platform for others”

I’m convinced this is the key reason. Content is seductive and the fact that it makes no business sense is irrelevant. If my 3G operator offered me 75Gb monthly for ¬£30, then I’d buy it and I’d find uses for it. So long as they keep offering me 1Gb monthly for ¬£loads then their data revenues from me will continue to be zero.

By: Ray Anderson

Ray Anderson — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 03:17:11 +0000

Having spoken with almost all the major mobile operators (carriers)atthe highest levels over the last 2-3 years, they know that this is what they should do. Open up, enable and become a powerful platform that benefits from the innovation an dinvestment of all. Even when they hire consultants to tell them, thats what they are told

So why do most seem to be “stuck” in the “operator shop / portal” and “centrally controlled gallery” sort of models?

Three reasons:

(1) The middle management started going in the other direction back in 2000 (remember Vizzavi?, T-Motion, Orange buying Ananova… etc.) and its very very hard to get them to change course or disappear – especially when they have started to earn a bit of money from their limited efforts

(2) If you are a telco person, its cool to deal with media types, record labels, games etc. so you tend to rationalize that – rather than just providing a platform for others

(3) Fear of VOIP. If the platform is opened up and datarates fall, there is a big chance that VOIP services will become even more popular and damage voice revenues faster than the new services drive other value. Today it costs 3p / minute to use VOIP over UMTS data in the UK on a normal 3G handset with a suitable client. That means international calling for 3-5p/minute and its quite hard to set up. Imagine when services become easier to use and data costs become “all you can eat” ….

These are Telco problems, and they need to solve them to move forward – and the good ones will.

By: Theloniusflash

Theloniusflash — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 17:20:55 +0000

It is likely to be quite similar to the Internet there will be breakthrough apps that come along and suddenly go mainstream. There have been a load of problems which have held things back, from operator network settings, to phone usability to the headaches of programming in Java (which frankly is the app language of choice – anyone who says its Symbian or Flash Lite are deluding themselves as the penetration of either/both is way too low) however operators, developers and marketing folks are now beginning to get their heads around these and so it probably wont be long now.

Personally I reckon the breakthrough will come from the gambling folks but then I would say that