more on EC demands more wireless R&D

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Will Morton <will.morton () memefeeder com>
Date: July 1, 2004 7:23:40 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] EC demands more wireless R&D

David Farber wrote:

<snip>
> Original URL: 
> <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/07/01/wireless_r_and_d/>
> EC demands more wireless R&D
> By electricnews.net (press.releases () theregister co uk)
> Published Thursday 1st July 2004 12:21 GMT
<snip>
> The Commission envisages the expansion of m-commerce to the point 
> where mobile users will be able to shop and pay on-line and receive a 
> whole range of audio-visual services such as music and video. It also 
> anticipates that mobile data capabilities will allow for a mobile 
> workforce that can easily exchange large amounts of data with its own 
> headquarters to improve working processes and improve efficiency.
<snip>

	The problem in the mobile data space right now isn't lack of research, 
it's lack of cluefulness amongst the existing operators. Not learning 
the lessons of the first round of Internet businesses, they're 
positioning themselves as integrated online providers rather than 
mobile ISPs. Instead of lowering per-meg charges to a reasonable level, 
encouraging 3rd party development of mobile-targeted websites and then 
collecting for the bandwidth, they're concentrating on developing their 
own (rather lame) integrated content such as Vodafone Live.

	If they embraced their position as mobile ISPs, they could offer 
integrated payment systems whereby a mobile user could purchase items 
from websites and have the goods/services charged to their mobile bill 
- actual working micropayments. Or open up their (already-existing) 
location-based information to Java applets and allow 3rd party 
developers to offer location-based services over the web. But no, it's 
portalitis all over again.

	We talked to a product manager at one of the UK mobile operators last 
year, and they told us that they were anxious not to have the mobile 
connectivity market "follow the Internet model". Given the speed at 
which the Internet is subsuming other information networks (see the IP 
post about Skype just before the one quoted above), I don't think they 
have much of a choice.

        Will

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