The current wave of mobile services are simply hoping to emulate the success of the ringtone market – where consumers paid for content because unlike the internet it was impracticle and expensive to search for free content via a mobile browser.

More advanced browsers will help to change this, as will the rise in off-deck content and services (ie: those outside of the operator’s premium walled garden), and bulk data tarifs.

I believe much of this is due to the fact that the mobile experience is still perceived to be a closed shop, controlled by the networks – rather than the free-for-all of the internet.

Time (and Android?!) will change that.

I found your blog a very good source of information. It is very informative!

I am a student at the Columbia University of NY and currently doing a research paper on the subject of mobile banking. I am of the firm belief that Mobile banking is there to stay and is definitely beginning to gain traction in the United States.

For that matter I also came across a lot of vendors providing solutions in the mobile banking space in the process of doing my research. And when I look it from the vendors point of view how do I take into account the risk involved in these investments. I want to know how vendors of mobile banking such as mfoundry, firethorn, obopay and the host of other new players entering the market or for that matter new companies provinding mobile software solutions are able to justify there investments.

In particular what kind of discount factor or cost of capital do they go with when venturing into creating solutions for mobile banking considering that mobile banking has still not started to generate any substantial revenue for banks.

I would appreciate your advice and suggestions in helping me solve this puzzle.

Thanks,
Rakesh