Mobile Marketing Magazine

What the iPad Means for Mobile Operators

John Strand, CEO of Strand Consult, argues that the launch of the iPad presents mobile operators with a unique opportunty to enter a new, lucrative market 

The media is currently full of stories about the launch of Apple’s iPad. But reading through the many stories, we noticed that very few focus on the iPad from an operator's viewpoint, and even fewer focus on how the iPad will influence content and the VAS (Value Added Services) market in non-Apple areas, outside the value chain controlled via App store.
May we start by pointing out that the iPad is just one of many devices that has the possibility of being online via the mobile operators’ networks. If an operator focuses on the iPad, they will only make money on the data traffic created by the iPad - there is no voice and SMS revenue like on traditional mobile phones. We have no doubt that most customers will purchase their mobile traffic where it is cheapest and that their choice of operator will be based on who can offer the most inexpensive mobile data tariff.
When you examine a device like the iPad and the way that operators will sell data, it corresponds to having a restaurant that offers an "all you can eat for a fixed price" menu. In the same way that restaurants hope people do not eat too much, operators will also hope that their customers do not use their mobile networks to send and receive too much data.

Dumb bitpipes
At this point, a smart reader would question why mobile operators and ISPs need to think twice - and how a device like the iPad could undermine the operators’ future business cases, resulting in mobile operators and ISPs becoming dumb bitpipes?
Strand Consult has never believed that mobile operators can use a walled garden strategy to achieve a central role in developing, marketing and selling services. Neither did we ever believe that operators in the future would develop into dumb bitpipes that only sell connectivity. If you read through the many research notes and reports we have published regarding this subject, you can see that we have always viewed operators as intelligent bitpipes, using an open garden strategy as their foundation.
When we look at Apple’s strategy and iTunes’ position in the music market - and the position they are starting to achieve in part of the application market and other markets - there is no doubt that Apple would like to handle the billing relationship in an increasing number of areas. According to Apple, the mobile operators’ primary function is to deliver cheap data traffic to customers.

Intelligent services
We believe that mobile operators around the world have many possibilities if they take advantage of their large customer bases, the billing relationships they have with their customers, and the intelligence built into their networks. This can be sold to service providers that can create, market and sell applications and services that are far more intelligent than those available today for devices like the iPad.
In fact, mobile operators and ISPs can use the launch of the iPad to enter a new market that is very close to the premium SMS market that mobile operators around the world today earn billions from. Moving from what is happening on mobile phones today, to what will happen on iPad's, portable PCs and many other online devices in the future, is only a short step.
In our report, ‘One API – Next Generation Value Added Services in the Mobile Industry’, we have analysed Open API and the possibilities that operators and service providers will have on the future telco market. We not only examine the actual standard, but also put forward a number of suggestions on how operators and content providers can optimise their business models.
There’s more information about the report here.

Location, Location, Location

Kevan Christmas, Digital and Mobile Consultant at The Collinson Group, argues that real-time, location-based marketing via the mobile offers a new opportunity to enhance the power of loyalty programmes  

There has been an increasing level of interest and debate in the topic of real-time, location-based marketing, and this will only increase as Google and Facebook enter the space in a serious way.
That said, I have been surprised at how little of the conversation has focused on the opportunities this new technology creates for brands with established customer loyalty and reward programmes. 
For example, the mobile social network/game Foursquare has been in the news after signing up its first national UK brands - Debenhams and Domino’s Pizza. The app detects Foursquare users’ whereabouts, and when they visit the store or restaurant they gain points for ‘checking-in’.
Brands get involved by offering deals to users based on, for example, the number of times someone checks in to their local branch. Businesses get increased footfall, and ideally, a network of brand ambassadors who will pass on recommendations. The consumer gets great deals that are relevant not only to who they are, but where they are, such as Debenhams giving Foursquare members a free cup of coffee in the restaurant when they check in

Engaging consumers
So it’s no secret that Smartphones and branded applications are an incredibly cost effective way of targeting and engaging consumers. By creating tools which engage and add value that your customer base can download and use on a regular basis, you can integrate with their lives in a way that advertising never has.
The iPhone is clearly the leader with respect to the app marketplace. While some point to the iPhone’s still relatively low penetration of the overall mobile market (at around 2%) and even of the Smartphone market (14%), it is quickly starting to grow in a market that will also continue to grow exponentially. It is also worth recognising that the iPhone already accounts for 50% of all mobile web traffic. 
At Collinson Latitude we have a lot of experience working in the travel sector, and some of the software we are developing illustrates the potential of the next generation of apps that can use a Smartphone’s GPS capabilities in a way that enables brands to hit a moving target.
We are about to release a product that offers travellers a web-based suite of services that help them plan, prepare and manage their whole journey. The capabilities include itinerary planning, destination content, check-in services, and miles management, as well as airline timetables and flight status texts – it’s a travel toolkit. It’s also enabled with an iPhone application, so travellers will be able to carry on planning and managing their trips on the move, even when offline, avoiding expensive data roaming charges.

Customer journey
The key insight here is that loyalty programmes should connect with all the different stages of the customer journey (in every sense of the word), from planning to booking, and from departure to arrival. Mobile technology can actually be viewed as a very direct way to plug in to that journey, wherever the customer may be.
What this means is that we already have a good idea of where the customer is going to be and when, as well as knowing how much loyalty or reward currency they have. This can be matched against the various outlets that reward programmes have affiliate marketing relationships with. Also, as the customer loyalty programme provider, you already have a huge amount of customer data, including payment information. As a result, the mobile device could actually be used, even offline, to facilitate some of the purchasing processes.
Say, for example, the customer uses a mobile app to find the nearest hotel where they can spend their loyalty points; they could actually book a room and check in via their Smartphone. A key principle of properly developed reward programmes is that they use as much customer insight as possible to make sure that the services and products offered are exactly what the individual wants and needs. This data should be used not just to meet customer expectations, but to exceed them.
It’s also worth noting that there is a lot of trust inherent in the relationship you have with your customer base, which retail partners can benefit from. Furthermore, because the customer’s payment details are not held on the mobile device, but rather, by you as the programme provider, no sensitive financial data needs to be transmitted. This resolves a major consumer fear and barrier to location-based marketing.
Another capability that mobile offers is to push messages onto the customer’s device. Relevance here is absolutely crucial; it’s a disruptive technique that can increase engagement with the right insight, but can easily irritate if the correct principles are ignored. There is a clear benefit, however, to being able to message a customer to let them know that now they’ve touched down, there is a restaurant nearby where their reward points are worth double.

Intelligent monitoring
This ‘intelligent monitoring’ is a key part of our development strategy. Previously, we’ve been able to narrow down the offers made to customers according to their pre-arranged travel plans, but now we will be able to target people, based specifically on where they are, with this next level of customer insight. So whilst you have a captive consumer waiting in duty-free, this can be directly integrated with your loyalty programme, offering them ways to redeem their points just as they are walking past a retail outlet you are partnered with. Moreover, based on their itinerary, specific products could be offered that are relevant to where they are going.
Utilising these highly accurate GPS capabilities will also create new data, with new patterns emerging of how your loyalty customers behave when on the move. It’s effectively an entirely new way to observe consumer behaviour, and should potentially lead to us being able to pre-empt customer needs specific to where they are.
Just as your communications with the customer must be relevant to what the customer actually wants, however, so must your offerings match your brand values and the specific objectives of your loyalty programme. That could be seeking to reward and encourage high spenders; prompting low users to spend more; motivating your customer base to use more of your wider service and product offerings, and so on.
Finally, I think there is a real opportunity for reward programmes to use peer-based social media capabilities. So instead of the app just saying: ‘Here are the five nearest car hire outlets where you can earn or spend loyalty points’, it could say: ‘Here are the top three in your vicinity according to ratings provided by your fellow Gold Card-holding members’. Providing scores, notes, suggestions, related recommendations and so on from a group of people who have similar tastes, aspirations and levels of affluence creates a great deal of trust and authority. Obviously, companies like Amazon have been doing this for years, but connecting it with your reward programme via mobile technology takes the concept to an entirely new level of relevance, utility and engagement.

The Bigger Picture

Jeff Hayzlett, Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company, explains why Kodak became more social and mobile, and how (and why) it’s helping other companies to do the same

Kodak knows how to evolve, and we know how to move quickly. It’s why we’ve been successful in transforming to meet the needs of today’s consumers. We’ve turned heads with our All-in-One Inkjet printers and consumer-friendly ink replacement prices, as well as with our line of pocket video cameras. But this approach goes beyond products and into how we engage our consumers as a leader in interacting with them via social media channels and mobile devices.
We knew early on that both platforms represented incredible opportunities to directly reach our consumers on a personal level, and that it also afforded us a better opportunity to not only meet but also understand their needs. And short-term history has already proven that we’re not just experimenting in these spaces - we’re producing tangible ROI and results.

Two-way conversations
As Chief Marketing Officer at Kodak, I’m always looking to engage in meaningful two-way conversations with people invested in our brand and products. I do so every day via Twitter for instance. I’m also consistently challenging my colleagues and partners to look for fresh, innovative ways to reach our customers and give them access to our brand anytime, wherever they are, and via whatever device they’re holding in their hands.
Right now, we’re very focused on the mobile space, because we want to offer customers a variety of ways to use and enjoy their Kodak products through their mobile devices. For instance, we’ve been developing iPhone apps for more than two years. We recognized right away that our customers wanted us to utilize new technologies to allow them to more easily share and manipulate their images - that’s what’s at the core of our three apps.
With the Kodak Pic Flick app, we’ve found our consumers agree that it’s easier to ‘flick’ a newly taken picture from their iPhone to a nearby Kodak frame or printer over a wi-fi signal than to hook it up to their computer first. Our Kodak Gallery iPhone app allows consumers to upload and share photo albums online, and our Kodak Smile Maker app, which has been downloaded more than 200,000 times, allows consumers to add one of more than 20 fun cartoon smiles to a photo. These are tools that not only solve a customer need or create a bit of fun, but also reinforce our value proposition that Kodak makes it easier to share.
All are apps are free because we believe the investment is worth it to offer more choices to our customers. And, to ensure we remain where our customers are, we’re constantly assessing the possibilities with every mobile platform our consumers are using or will use in the future.

Mobile contests
We’ve also used mobile to engage consumers on-site at our trade shows. For instance, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January, we used a mobile contest as a great way to drive traffic to our booth. Attendees could text  31400 (Kodak’s booth number) to a Shortcode for a chance to win a Kodak product. Winners were notified via text message and could pick up their prize at the Kodak booth.
We even created a location for the Kodak booth on Foursquare, the location-based mobile app that allows consumers to check-in  to locations to earn virtual badges and potentially, real-world rewards. Our Chief Blogger Jenny Cisney challenged all CES attendees to overtake the ‘mayorship’ of the Kodak booth (by checking into the booth more than she had) away from her in exchange for a prize. Again, it was all about using an app and a device that our consumers were already using and loving, and finding a new, relevant and authentic way for them to interact with Kodak products and initiatives.
We also have used mobile to reengage fans of our Kodak Times Square Gallery billboard. Since December 2009, consumers have been able to use their mobile devices to get their own photos up there. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind experience. All they need to do is email a photo to [email protected] from their mobile device, and, once the photo is approved, they will receive a second email containing a special code. When they’re ready to see their picture, they simply text the code to the number provided, and the photo will appear at the next opportunity.

Online dialogue
The most important investment we have made in the past year is the addition of the Kodak Chief Listening Officer, Beth LaPierre. In 2008, we named  Jenny Cisney the Kodak Chief Blogger, and she has amassed tremendous support (and a fan following) as the voice of Kodak online. With the addition of our new Chief Listening Officer, we’re taking that next step in our online dialogue with customers – getting to know their preferences, needs and ideas in real time and ensuring our business is adapting accordingly.
We’re constantly trying things. And we’re definitely learning a lot as we go. That’s why we published the Kodak Mobile Marketing Tips booklet at CES this year. We wanted to share what we are doing and why and encourage other companies to do the same. We didn’t set out to make a ‘how to’ guide, because mobile marketing is so new and evolving so quickly that the only thing we can be sure of right now is that mobile marketing is rapidly becoming a major channel for reaching our core customers and that we’re encouraged by our current results. We did, however, want to open up a channel to exchange our learnings. Both the Mobile Marketing Tips booklet and our Social Media Tips booklet are available free to download here.
I encourage you to read them and provide us with feedback. We’re committed to using these opportunities to reach our customers, but also to helping our partners and other companies learn how to use them as well.
We are looking forward to aggressively growing our efforts in mobile this year, and we’re also always excited to see what’s going to be the next Facebook or Twitter or Foursquare, and how smart companies are finding new ways to use those channels.

Open Invitation

Pierrette de Leeuw, Product Marketing Manager at Acision, urges mobile operators to embrace the open services framework model in order to leverage their unique assets

During this year’s Mobile World Congress, 24 operators, along with the GSMA, Sony Ericsson, Samsung and LG jointly announced the formation of the Wholesale Applications Community (WAC) - an alliance designed to build an open platform for delivering applications to all mobile phone users. The operators and the handset makers are committed to creating the applications ecosystem.
While this is undoubtedly a positive step for the industry, confidence in the success of the alliance has been less than enthusiastic, with industry analysts muting concerns over co-operation on such a large scale. Acision believes that an open platform is the right way to go, yet operators need to leverage the strengths of their network assets with the (application) services creation from their developer ecosystem.

Network assets
Acision believes that the WAC could bring the potential for operators to create an environment for application and services developers, especially when leveraging the full breadth of their network assets and capabilities. The global nature of the alliance, and number of operator groups participating, will drive the standardisation the industry needs to ensure continuation of the value of applications purchased by their subscriber. To illustrate: if, today, a subscriber loses their iPhone, or after years of use decides to change the device for a Nokia phone, contacts can be easily migrated via the web or PC, and you can keep your same mobile number, yet the purchased applications, like navigation or office applications  -costing between €5 - 100 are left useless on the old device.
The alliance will drive a single worldwide application and developer platform, offering device-agnostic applications and services. Acision believes that combining this with the capability to add unique assets to these services, like location awareness, subscriber identity and personal preferences – assets that are often out of reach for applications developers today – will enable them to orchestrate unique and rich data services, in a highly secure messaging ecosystem.

Open services framework
If the operators that join the WAC stick to just offering open access to their mobile network and subscribers, but fail to ensure a unique value add, there is a chance that this will drive them to become mere bitpipes. To ensure that operators will be able to add value, their messaging ecosystem should include an open services framework with a separate developer environment, for transparent services creation, and connectivity to messaging functions, as well as the unique network assets.
If the operator is able to disclose and manage these assets and intelligence, and provide these to third parties like service providers and developers, they can jointly offer better services to mobile users. This way, the messaging ecosystem also creates new revenue opportunities by enabling mobile operators to offer unique cloud services to Internet and enterprise customers, leveraging the unique mobile network assets.

Safety First

With Ericsson announcing last week that global data traffic had overtaken voice traffic for the first time, Simeon Coney, VP Business Development at mobile security firm AdaptiveMobile, cautions mobile users to remain vigilant when using mobile data services on their phones or via mobile broadband dongles

The rise of the Smartphone has brought about a revolution in the way we use our phones. Whereas two years ago, it was all about voice and text, these days our mobile handset is about so much more than that – it’s an extension of our connection to Internet content, services and applications, and for many users, is more immediate than the laptop or PC. Unfortunately, this upsurge in mobile data usage brings with it the demands of traffic types often not anticipated by the network.
For mature markets, these risks are often associated with cost. Users often remain unaware of the levels of background data access their handset and PC applications are demanding, then experience a shock when roaming charges are later presented for services such as media or podcast synchronisation, or application and OS updates. For example, we frequently measure that ‘Windows Updates’ is the most commonly accessed destination on many mobile networks, due to the penetration of netbooks and mobile broadband packages.

Additional risks
In emerging markets, there are also additional risks. With many users being new to the mobile web, many are unaware of the potential security threats they face when browsing or emailing. Users of PCs or laptops are typically conditioned to be suspicious of unusual links and keep their guard up against viruses and phishing - it’s become second nature. However, as the mobile phone is such a personal device, people have become too trusting of the content they receive. Unfortunately, AdaptiveMobile measures many requests in networks where people are attempting to visit high-risk content, whether it be spam, phishing or fraud. If you see a link which appears to be from someone you know on your mobile, most people would click on it without giving it a second thought.
In both mature and emerging markets, data traffic is also driven by infections on devices, where uncontrolled spam is sent out from mobile data-enabled PCs. This results in the operator’s public IP reputation being damaged, ultimately leading to service failure for subscribers.
This increase in demand for mobile data has, however, opened up new opportunities for the mobile operators - to provide protection for their subscribers and networks, whilst delivering business value and generating new upsell revenue for their network.

Mobile Ready for its Retail Screen Test

Anthony Hopper, UK Managing Director of Saatchi & Saatchi X, looks at the part mobile has to play in the future of shopper marketing

For the last five years, each New Year has been greeted with claims that this will be the year that the retail sector will finally fully integrate in-store technology into the marketing mix. There has, to date, been a focus on in-store screens, with limited success. Clearly, screens have a big role to play, but so far, there has been too much focus on screens in aisles that are delivering the wrong content for shoppers. A lot of branded price and promotion messages are being pushed, without a genuine understanding of what the shopper cares about at that particular point of their customer journey, and what it takes to help them win.
What this means is using the technology to connect to the emotional drivers of shoppers – helping them to find a solution, making them feel like they got a good deal and contributing to a good experience. It is about using this new technology as more than just another price-based advertising channel. The retail marketing channel of the future may well be in-store screen technology, but the screen will be in the shoppers’ hands.

Emergent behaviour
This is where the mobile channel can be properly and intelligently integrated into retailers’ and brands’ marketing activity. This opportunity is borne out of naturally emergent consumer behaviour; people are finding their own ways to use this new technology, rather than some innate desire on the part of retail brands to invest in mobile. The exponential spread of Smartphones means consumers are using their mobile device for far more than just sending texts and making calls. 
All of which is hugely relevant to shopper marketing. As an approach that uses an understanding of how consumers behave when they are in ‘shopper mode’ to remove barriers to purchase, mobile technology provides opportunities we’ve never seen before to improve shoppers’ lives.
Take the recent Dixons.co.uk campaign, which tapped into a real truth about shopper behaviour: shoppers go to outlets like John Lewis to look at expensive consumer technical goods in-store before checking online to find the best price and buying from there. This is a purchase barrier to consumers making the buying decision in store, and one that mobile technology could overcome. If John Lewis launched an iPhone app that allowed customers to scan any existing barcode, and compare prices in store, they could trigger the buying decision there and then, which would also link directly with John Lewis’ brand promise of being ‘never knowingly undersold’.
There are more ways to empower and inspire shoppers than price comparison, however. Saatchi & Saatchi X in the US worked with LG to provide consumers with the ability to source a range of product data via a mobile online buyers’ guide - a great example of how to improve shoppers’ lives. This could work in the FMCG sector, just as well as for FMTG and white goods.
Retailers and brand marketers can take valuable lessons from online retailers and apply them in store via mobile technology. Providing a database that consumers can sort by category’ enabling consumers to choose which products they want to see a greater depth of information about; even accessing consumer reviews of the same products - these are all facilities offered by Amazon that engage the shopper and build new levels of trust. It doesn’t have to be explicitly branded to work either; an impartial body like Which? Magazine would be a hugely effective partner in delivering what shoppers want, and what will make them buy, there and then.

Content control
Another factor to consider is that mobile offers brands the opportunity to deliver content they can control, which is not the case with retailers’ own screens. This allows brands to tailor the content they want to deliver, based around their insight of what the shopper wants.
In a recent study, Forrester Research found that 85% of shoppers have mobile devices on them whilst shopping. Devices which are now used for planning or researching purchases, to discover what’s on offer and even give shoppers directions on how to get to the store. Indeed, a 2009 US Deloitte study indicated that nearly one in five consumers had planned to use their mobile phone over the Christmas period to find store locations, obtain coupons, and research prices. So, whilst mobile devices are clearly changing people’s behaviour, many brands still seem to be suspicious of anything new. But if brands understand that mobile communication and marketing messages that are delivered through the handset need not be a form of disruption, but actually a source of utility, then they should see that consumers are more likely to welcome these brands into their lives.

iPhone applications
Look at the explosive growth of iPhone applications as an example. In 2009, Kraft foods launched its ‘iFood Assistant’app in the US. For 99 cents, shoppers can download the application which enables them to browse recipes, add items to a shopping list, view suggestions for dinner, and store favourites in an online recipe box. These branded applications, which act as tools to help people shop, are essentially a highly involving form of direct marketing and actually help improve shoppers’ lives. When a brand can do that, the chance of repeat purchases is greatly increased, and they can start to build what should be the aspiration of any brand marketer - loyalty beyond reason.
The increase in shoppers’ use of their mobiles, and their greater demand for information, is not the only driving force at work here; there has also been a corresponding rapid advancement in mobile communications technology. Japan, perhaps unsurprisingly, is a great place to look for an insight into the future of mobile marketing. In Japan, Quick Response (QR) codes are everywhere. Users with a cameraphone can scan the image of a code, causing the phone’s browser to launch and redirect to the programmed URL. This seamless act of linking from physical objects to the Internet opens up a huge number of new opportunities. It allows brands to share information such as consumer reviews at the point of purchase, or as Pepsi has done, just engage and have fun with its audience by linking to a microsite, from where users can download music and play games through their mobile.

Timely information
Brands and retailers must take the lead and explore every opportunity to improve shoppers’ lives by providing relevant, insightful and timely information. This requires a real understanding of how shoppers are actually using their mobile phones to shop; whether comparing prices, checking out ingredients or searching for special offers. Once you know that, then and only then can you connect with them in a way that will add value and improve the shopping experience. Furthermore, a more earnest dialogue is required between the mobile and retail industries that can between them create some incredible new and innovative ideas that will drive the market in 2010 and beyond.
What retailers and brands must realise is that to truly harness the opportunity this technology offers, they must know how and when the shopper wants to use it. Only then can you deliver your messages in a way that will improve their shopping experience.
 

Coming of Age

Gary Corbett, Commercial Director at Oxygen8 Communications, offers advice on how best to harness the power of mobile micropayaments, a technology whose time, he argues, has arrived

Suddenly, everyone is talking micropayments. And with good reason: according to Gartner, by 2014, over 3 billion of the world's adult population will be able to transact electronically via mobile or Internet technology, representing a phenomenal market opportunity.
While this trend is driven, in part, by the speed with which emerging countries are embracing mobile and the Internet, there is also a growing recognition that to maximise opportunities in areas such as gaming, social networking and content provision, the industry needs to deliver easy-to-use micropayments.

Prime target
In the UK, it is estimated that 16% of the adult population does not have a debit card, rising to 38% for credit cards. And amongst the youth sector, the prime target for many online services, those numbers are even higher. These figures are even more significant in emerging markets.
And while, to date, many organisations have eschewed micropayment options such as premium SMS, due to the significant charges levied by the networks, the market has reached a tipping point: the opportunity now outweighs the network cost.
Micropayment technology also offers the online community a very real opportunity to address the issue of fraud and identity theft. While most consumers are confident about using credit cards online, the cost of Internet-based fraud escalates year on year, and there is growing awareness that SSL-based (Security Socket Layer) sites do not offer an adequate long term, secure solution.
Micropayment, in contrast, is essentially secure. Leveraging the trusted mobile network and device, micropayment technology can be securely integrated into online payment methods, charging directly to the consumer’s mobile phone bill.
It is also completely transparent: full payment is processed before delivery of goods and services, which ensures there is no more partial payment or out-of-credit re-billing. Users receive a payment confirmation, or a screen encouraging them to top up, enabling transactions to be delayed until they have credit.

Best solution
But with new micropayment solutions arriving on the market on a near-weekly basis, organisations are struggling to work out what is the best solution. Add in the challenges associated with very different national regulations for micropayment use, diverse business models, and variance in network charges, and it becomes clear that it’s easy to make the wrong decision, and that doing so could result in a major business cost and expansion constraint.
There are a number of services on offer, from the Payforit solution to premium SMS billing and voice solutions. Given the very different opt-in regulations and network maturity in place globally, organisations will have to support more than one micropayment approach to truly maximise the opportunity.
It is essential to look for a solution that can support both one-off micropayments and subscriptions, to support diverse business models, especially in the online content delivery market. Furthermore, by opting for a solution that supports both timed and event-driven subscription models, organisations can streamline the whole subscription handling process.
Dealing with the complexity of multiple networks and multiple country regulations is simply too complex for the majority of businesses, so it is therefore important to work with a provider that can handle this complexity and ensure the end customer receives the same level of seamless service irrespective of network or market.

Grossing up
While the technology can obviously provide benefits for the consumer, it is obviously important that websites can gain serious commercial benefit – above and beyond broadening market access. 
In fact, on smaller values, micropayments are actually more cost effective credit card payments. However, network charges will, for the time being remain higher than credit or debit card charges, so organisations need a way to charge customers a premium for the ease, convenience and security of a micropayment alternative.
By offering the customer the option of making a micropayment, but charging a little more – known as grossing up - an organisation can maintain its margin, without cannibalising the existing customer base.
With the right integration into the core product/service software, it is a simple process to offer two prices – one for credit card transactions and one for micropayments – enabling the customer to make the choice. Online businesses are rapidly discovering that consumers are happy to pay this premium for the ease and security of using micropayments. Indeed, the mobile billing payment process is proven to improve conversion rates, with organisations typically achieving a 10 to 15% increase in revenues.
This model can even work internationally and across different networks, despite the variance in network changes. If the micropayment provider can seamlessly adapt the price to reflect the network charge, the organisation can ensure the margin is sustained.

Flexible options
The micropayment market looks set to explode. Social networking, gaming and dating sites are already demanding flexible, secure options for small subscriptions; whilst the introduction of new devices, such as eBook readers and Apple’s iPad, is providing publishers with a fantastic new way to sell content – if the payment methodology is right.
In fact, micropayments are relevant to any web-based business that wants to offer its customers an alternative, secure method of online transactions. And the mobile is the obvious payment method. It is secure, trusted and ubiquitous. Indeed, individuals globally are increasingly using the mobile as the primary route of Internet access, with 76% of mobile phones in the UK now Internet-enabled.
The time is now right: micropayments offer the most transparent and trusted way to buy goods and services on the Internet. Consumers now have a secure, convenient alternative to the credit card; whilst businesses can achieve global market expansion, improve conversion rates and significantly increase revenue. Micropayments have, most definitely, come of age.

Making an Opportunity Out of the Data Problem

As network congestion continues to dominate industry debate and discourse, Scott Cotter, Senior Director of Marketing at Novarra, discusses how mobile data optimisation solutions may offer an immediate answer to an ever-growing problem

Now that the dust has settled on another Mobile World Congress, the industry is left to reflect on the key trends from this year’s event. Undoubtedly, applications took centre stage, with the prominence and success of the inaugural App Planet an indication of how fundamental the entire ecosystem views them to the future of the mobile industry.
If apps were the predominant theme of this year’s show, then the impending network data tsunami was certainly the key issue. This is not surprising: the rise in apps and Internet browsing - a direct result of the growth in Smartphone usage - combined with the surge in mobile broadband and the rising popularity of mobile social networking, has finally propelled mass-market adoption of Internet offerings and services on the mobile platform. AT&T recently reported that data traffic has increased 50-fold since the introduction of the iPhone, with 3% of Smartphones responsible for 40% of network traffic. Similarly, according to statistics from Vodafone, data traffic is now 2.5 times voice traffic. O2 recently reported that data traffic is doubling every four months.

Explosive growth
This explosive growth of mobile data usage is now overloading the operators’ networks to the point where their reliability and, crucially, quality of service is suffering. O2’s reported series of data outages towards the end of last year and AT&T’s capacity constraints in major metropolitan areas are high-profile examples of this. The industry has been so focused on driving mobile Internet use, it seems surprising that operators did not anticipate the strain which this would ultimately place on network capacity.
The roll-out of 4G and LTE technologies are touted as the solution, but there are two problems with this. Firstly, the examples of O2 and AT&T highlight the immediacy of the issue. Verizon Wireless went on record earlier this month to state that its first 4G-ready handsets would not be ready until mid-2011, while Telefonica was, until recently, only piloting its 4G network. Secondly, regardless of the timeline for roll-out, new spectrum acquisitions and the deployment of additional base stations are no longer sufficient or economically sustainable to meet shifting usage patterns and ever-growing subscriber demand.
As an example, Cisco is predicting that by 2013, video – much more bandwidth hungry than today’s typical apps and mobile web - will comprise 64% of data traffic. This highlights how data traffic will continue to grow faster than the capacity growth afforded by new technologies such as LTE. Simply put, we should learn from the 2.5G – 3G transition that we can expect data consumption to grow rapidly and fill the capacity of the pipe.

Effective options
While there is no one single solution to the problem, there are immediately-available and effective options outside of infrastructure investments for operators looking to capitalise on the revenue opportunities presented by mobile apps and the mobile Internet.
One such route is through mobile data optimisation solutions, which offer financial benefits for the operator, while simultaneously enhancing the end-user experience. Such solutions use content transformation, compression and network layer efficiency improvements to enable operators to deliver double or triple the amount of data using their existing radio access network (RAN) and backhaul network. Recent data from a third party study commissioned by Novarra demonstrates that one operator in a developed market reduced over-the-air payload from 31.7 TB (terabytes) to 4.18 TB per month across its mobile Internet user population.
The Novarra study further quantifies the financial benefits for operators who implement data optimisation techniques to address network traffic growth. Operators of HSPA networks can extend time to capacity depletion from just 12 months to 30 months. LTE network operators can service more than twice as many subscribers with the same build-out of cell sites. Aside from providing an immediate solution to the growing bandwidth crunch, these immediate savings are critical in the current economic environment.

Data optimisation
The industry is just starting to recognise that there are viable and immediately- available options, aside from network offload and costly network build-outs, which can serve as effective antidotes to the network malaise. Resolving the issue of congestion will require the deployment of a variety of techniques - mobile data optimisation is at the top of the list for immediacy and return on investment. As all-you-can-eat data plans give way to tiered offerings or peak hour restrictions, consumers will appreciate the ability to get reliable, high quality mobile web and multimedia services as a result of data optimisation. At the same time, operators will lower opex costs and defer network investments to improve the bottom line and continue down the path of stemming voice ARPU decline with profitable data services.

You can access the Novarra study, ‘Profiting from the Mobile Data Tsunami’ here.
 
 

Let the MVNO Battle Commence

John Strand, CEO of Strand Consult, looks at the growing importance of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), and considers which UK operator has the best MVNO strategy

After the merger between Orange and T-Mobile was approved, the UK mobile market is facing a paradigm shift, and it’s one in which MVNOs will play a central role in the battle to attract and retain the highest number of customers, in the most cost efficient manner. Up to now, the English mobile market has been divided between the four main operators (Orange, T-Mobile, Vodafone and O2), with a smaller share of the market going to the 3. In reality, the market has had four players that have battled over having the dominant market share - but without success. Almost everything has been tried, including acquiring shops, launching more shops, launching mobile phone models that one operator has had exclusive rights to market and sell etc. None of the above strategies, however, has resulted in any one of the four operators having a dominant share of the market.
Both Orange and T Mobile have admitted that in a market with decreasing prices and increasing costs of building and running future mobile networks, they need to have a market share of more than 25% to create a business large enough to give shareholders a sensible future return on their investments. The merger between Orange and T-Mobile in the UK proves that the price development on mobile broadband, combined with the general price development will be one of the driving forces behind the market consolidation we expect to sweep across Europe during the coming years.

Dangerous game
Future mobile operators need to focus on two things: reducing acquisition costs and being able to build and run a ‘factory’ large enough to ensure that they will have the most cost efficient factory for ‘manufacturing’ voice, SMS and data. Operators that believe that they can charge more for their services based on a premium brand are naive and are playing a dangerous game with their shareholders’ money. Telephony is becoming increasingly commoditised.
Strand Consult knows that the most successful European operators today are those with the most aggressive MVNO strategy, and we know that a number of mobile operators have used MVNOs in combination with effective cost-reducing programs to increase their profitability. One of the best examples is how Stan Miller from KPN Mobile international, together with his team at E-Plus in Germany, reduced the company’s mixed SAC (Sales Acquisition Cost) by 56% and increased its EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation) from 22% to 37% in just 12 months. Today, three years later, it has passed an EBITDA margin of 40% and Vodafone and T Mobile's margin in Germany has decreased from more than 40% to around 30%. You can read more about this here.
 
MVNO strategy
In the UK, there is no doubt that the changes in the market after the merger between Orange and T Mobile will result in all the other operators needing to examine how they can use MVNOs as an active part of their distribution strategy, and as an efficient tool to reduce their SAC. The big question is how each individual operator will implement its MVNO strategy, and the significance this will have on the UK market in the short, medium and long term.
In practice, we often see operators use one of two strategies; a segmentation strategy where they only sign deals with MVNOs doing business in market areas where the operator is not strongly represented (MVNOs as a supplement); or a strategy like E-Plus, where the operator welcomes everyone on its network and combines its MVNO strategy with a number of MVNEs (Mobile Virtual Network Enablers) as an efficient tool to quickly launch even more MVNOs.
We believe that the UK will experience an explosion in the number and types of MVNOs on the market, and we believe that the market will come under pressure from a combination of the existing large MVNOs (Virgin, Tesco, Lyca, Labara etc) and a number of new market players - a scenario we have already experienced in Denmark, Norway, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Simply put, the UK is the next battlefield, and the merger between Orange and T-Mobile is the fuse that will ignite competition and fuel the role of MVNOs in the future.

Flash versus The World

Dominique Jodoin, President and CEO of Bluestreak Technology, considers Apple's and Microsoft’s decision not to support Adobe’s Flash format on their mobile platforms

Does it seem to you like everyone is ganging up on Adobe these days? Apple and Microsoft have made some bold moves lately in an attempt to prevent Adobe’s Flash technology from transferring the same dominance it has on the PC onto mobile devices.. 
At the recent Mobile World Congress exhibition, Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer announced that the new Windows Phone operating system would not support Flash “out of the gate” and gave no indication on when Flash support might be available.
Apple’s Steve Jobs took the battle a bit further when asked why the new iPad doesn’t support Flash saying “We don't spend a lot of energy on old technology” and reportedly telling Wall Street Journal staff that Flash was a "CPU hog" and a source of "security holes."

Ego battles
Tough talk. Kind of reminds me of ego battles between the popular kids back in my high school days. However, with Apple leaving Flash off the iPad and iPhone, Microsoft's announcement of no Flash support in the new Windows Phone, and the emergence of HTML5 as a new standard to compete with Flash, this situation presents a serious challenge for Adobe going forward.
Frankly, this battle is also one I am paying pretty close attention to as well since my company, Bluestreak Technology is the second largest provider of Flash-enabled solutions in the world. As a result, you can imagine that these days I am answering a lot of questions about Adobe and Flash’s future, including: “Why would your company choose to support Flash – isn’t it going away?”
Mark Twain once wrote that “reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” Adobe could clearly use this same messaging. Steve Jobs and some frenzied analysts may enjoy positioning Flash as a dying technology, but let’s just look at the facts as they stand today:

• 1.2 billion mobile phones are Flash capable
• 70% of online gaming sites run Flash
• 98% of Internet-enabled desktops use it
• 85% of he top 100 websites use Flash
• It’s the No.1 platform for video on the Web – 75% of all videos use Flash (including Hulu, Disney and YouTube)
• There are 2-3 million people in the Flash developers community
• 90% of creative professionals have Adobe software on their desktops

With numbers and penetration rates like that, the better question is why wouldn’t I choose to support this technology? None of the facts indicate that Adobe Flash is disappearing anytime soon.

Rich experience
There is a reason so many have embraced Flash in the past and continue to do so: Flash delivers the richest visual experience and easiest video streaming technology around. Period. Until Flash’s 2-3 million person developer community and companies like Bluestreak Technology see another underlying presentation technology that could compete with Flash’s graphic and video capabilities, we will all continue to support it.
Another question people are asking me is: “Won’t the new HTML5 standard replace Flash?”
Maybe…but not today. Not tomorrow. Not even in 10 years. To displace a technology as deeply embedded as Flash is in the worldwide market would take a tremendous momentum shift. HTML5, as it stands today, doesn’t offer all of the same capabilities as Flash, and it will take several years before it can catch up.
And let’s not forget that, most importantly, people who browse the web and watch videos want Flash. The popular Apple-focused blog site TUAW (http://www.tuaw.com) recently asked iPhone owners what they most wanted on the next version of the iPhone. The number one response, from 80% of survey respondents: Flash support.
Consumers like Flash. They like the fluid graphics, the sexy animations, the visual touches that you just can’t reproduce with other technologies today. Typically, what consumers want, consumers get.

Emerging technologies
That said, if you ask me: “Does my company, Bluestreak Technology, support HTML5 development for the applications we build across mobile phones, TVs, set-top boxes and consumer electronics devices?” then my answer would be “yes”. We are fortunate that we can be both a strong proponent of Flash-enabled application development, but still embrace and offer support for alternative, emerging technologies.
So do I think Apple will ever support Flash on the iPhone? Probably not, but not because of the reasons Steve Jobs conveys. If it was just Flash’s supposedly ‘ageing’ technology, speed, CPU usage, or battery drain issues that Apple was concerned about, I am sure they would find a way to resolve them to give consumers the ability to browse the entire web – rather than just ‘some’ of the web like they are limited to on the iPhone and iPad today.
The reality is that Apple simply doesn’t want developers to have an alternative platform for developing applications for the iPhone and iPad. It wants everything to be built using the native application development kit and sold through its closed marketplace, iTunes. It would take a pretty intense consumer uprising to change that vision for the future.

Competitive pressure
There is an outside chance, though, that Google’s support for Flash on devices like the NexusOne could eventually put enough competitive pressure on Apple that it could change their strategy in regards to Flash. That is doubtful, however.
To keep things in perspective, according to analyst firms Gartner and Strategy Analytics, the iPhone, while hugely popular in such a short time, still only makes up 17.1% of the Smartphone market and 2.5% of the global handset market. That leaves 97.5% of phones and many consumer electronic devices for Flash applications to penetrate in the future.
So who’s going to win this battle going forward? I don’t believe there will be a single winner. Apple’s not going to knock out Adobe. Adobe’s not going to eradicate HTML5. All of these technologies and vendors will continue to evolve and, ultimately, consumers will be the real winners. It’s the consumers who will reap the rewards from the innovative solutions and new technological breakthroughs that this competitive spirit ignites.

Working Towards a Mobile Future

Anthony Keyworth, Director of Products at Orange UK, chooses four mobile applications with the potential to revolutionise the way we work 

The mobile industry has a tradition of innovation, and new applications have the potential to change the way the business world operates almost beyond recognition. Technologies we once only dreamt of, such as touchscreen technology and voice activation, are now a reality, and play a vital role in our everyday working lives. With phones that can translate form one language to another being readied for launch, it is hard to imagine where mobile devices will take us next.
Such developments are testimony to the future potential of the mobile industry and mobile applications in the business world moving forward. Here are four mobile applications I think are going to have a big part to play in the future for business users.

Augmented Reality (AR)
Have you ever stared at your computer screen in confusion or gazed blankly at the printer manual when faced with an error message? Well, here’s where AR holds the potential to come to the rescue. For instance, by scanning the error notice using your mobile, this application will analyse the message then provide a visual step-by-step guide on how to solve the problem. Businesses, especially those without dedicated IT teams, can use AR to save time and money by acting as a virtual stand-in. 

Personal health monitoring
Businesses across the UK could save up to £13.2 billion (the amount of money lost through ill health in the UK each year, according to the CBI) by keeping their workforce healthy and happy. A personal health monitoring application could give staff the power to check their own health, ensuring they receive any early warning signs of potential illness. Though this is no replacement for a fully qualified medical professional check-up, it could help employees better manage certain aspects of their health, such as blood pressure. The application also holds the potential to ensure the safety of lone workers, by reducing their risk of falling ill in isolated situations. By continually monitoring their vital statistics, any health alerts can be immediately transmitted to emergency services, and reported to their place of work.

Mobile/office synchronisation
Cutting carbon emissions and reducing energy costs is a priority for most businesses. However, ensuring that all staff turn off their computers or switch off the lights when they leave work can be difficult to enforce. The synchronisation application will link your mobile device with your office and by determining your location and activity, alter your work environment accordingly. This means that it will be possible to switch on the computer when you are nearby, turn it to standby when you leave, activate the printer, and maybe even boil the kettle when it’s time for tea.

Personal identification
The days of carrying multiple wallets and personnel documents, especially when travelling for business, could soon be over, with the advent of personal identification applications. We’re already on our way with the ability to conduct monetary transactions via your mobile; in a few years time, we could even be boarding a plane with a mobile passport.

As the above examples clearly show, the lines between the physical and digital worlds will continue to blur, with the mobile industry able to use its unique position to encompass this growing trend through mobile devices and applications – all of which will go a long way in continuing to shape the business world of the future.

Don’t Sit on the Geo-fence

Chris Thorman from Software Advice, a website which has reviews of property management software, looks at the potential for location-based real estate marketing

It’s Saturday morning. Joel and Rebecca are walking their dog through a neighbourhood in Austin, Texas. As they walk, they chat about the movie they saw last night, what they’re going to make for dinner, and the big trip they have planned for next weekend. You wouldn’t know it by listening to their conversation, but the couple are also house hunting.
They cross Brodie Lane when Joel’s phone buzzes in his pocket. It’s a text message that reads: ‘3BR 2 BA single-family home w/ fireplace available at 714 Longview Rd, List price: $219,000. Come take a look!”
Joel says to Rebecca, “We’ve got a match from our real estate company. It’s only four blocks away. Let’s go see what the house looks like.”Within minutes, the couple are outside the house. It happens to be exactly the type of home they wanted, in the exact neighbourhood they wanted to live in. They call their real estate agent to set up a viewing.
How did this happen? How was the couple instantly notified of the opportunity, perfectly merging buyer requirements, location and timing? The answer involves a combination of ‘geo-fencing’, mobile phones and GPS technology.
If you’re a tech-savvy real estate agent or property manager, this powerful combination of technology represents a great opportunity to gain new clientele. Many real estate buyers do not have the time to review new listings online, travel to viewings or patrol their desired neighbourhoods for opportunities. But the vast majority of real estate buyers do have mobile phones they carry with them nearly all the time.
This technology would help real estate and property management companies capitalize on business that may otherwise slip through the cracks. Software Advice would like to see this type of mobile marketing become a permanent feature in today’s property management software systems to help advertise real estate and rental properties. Let’s see how that could be done.

Geo-fencing + Mobile = Powerful Real Estate Marketing
What if a buyer looking for a place to live didn’t have to do anything beyond choosing what features they wanted in a home? What if a buyer was automatically alerted to nearby properties that matched their needs? This is what we’re talking about with the next generation of mobile real estate marketing.
The use of geo-fences surrounding properties really drives the location-based marketing engine. A geo-fence is a virtual boundary surrounding a geographic region. When a person with a mobile phone crosses a geo-fence boundary, a notification is automatically issued to that mobile phone. Traditionally, geo-fencing has been used to send alerts when users exit a certain area, instead of entering one.
Geo-fencing has been used in conjunction with GPS technology for a while now and for a variety of uses, such as tracking senior citizens with Alzheimer’s; and monitoring hazardous cargo, to name a couple of examples.
We’re confident that someday, we’ll be able to add ‘market real estate” to that list. Here’s how we see this new form of mobile marketing working in the real estate industry.

Create geo-fences
Before real estate and property management companies set up their online portals, they’ll need to create geo-fences around all of their properties. This will ensure that if a qualified user crosses the geo-fence with their mobile phone, that user will be notified about that property.
We’d like to see geo-fencing modules built into today’s property management software, allowing companies to quickly create geo-fences around their properties by drawing them on a digital map.

Collect buyer needs online
Real estate and property management companies can create online portals on their websites, where prospective tenants and buyers set up notifications tailored to what they want in a property.
For example, a user could create an alert based on square footage, number of bedrooms, pet friendliness, special amenities, and zip/post code, to name just a few of the myriad of options available. Once they’ve entered their mobile phone number and submitted those housing preferences, all they have to do is carry their phone with them to receive notifications.
We’d also like to see today’s property management software vendors integrate these online portals into their systems. Many property management software vendors offer website design and hosting packages to their customers. A geo-fencing module could be another module that’s presented as an option to a management company when they buy the software.

Let the notifications begin
The notifications are where this entire concept of location-based mobile marketing comes together. The geo-fences have been set up. Users have entered their housing preferences online to receive notifications. All that is left is for the users to go about their normal lives, with their GPS-enabled mobile phones, of course.
When they get close to a property that matches their wants, they’ll be automatically notified on their mobile phone. Property management software can then integrate all of these contact points with customers into their CRM system, to track the effectiveness of the messages and review properties with clients. House hunting couldn’t get much easier than that, could it?

The benefits
Hopefully by now, the benefits of this unique marketing method are clear. First, since the user opts in to receive these marketing notifications, there is no feeling of intrusiveness or annoyance as with unsolicited messages. This type of marketing is perceived as a service, not an intrusion.
Second, from a marketing standpoint, notifying the right person, at the right place, at the right time about your product is powerful. It’s the holy grail of marketing: you have a desirable product; you have identified the person that wants your product; and you can automatically tell that person that your product is nearby.
Finally, this marketing method is scalable. A real estate or property management company could theoretically have dozens (or more) of users taking advantage of this service at any given time. Beyond taking calls to schedule viewings, it wouldn’t require any extra labour on the part of the management company.

Conclusion
We don’t expect this spin on mobile marketing to be installed in every real estate and property management office tomorrow. But whether through geo-fence triggers or other GPS-centric methods, the real estate industry will undoubtedly continue to make a huge effort over the next few years to connect with buyers and renters through their mobile phones. The technology is too compelling to ignore.

You can see the full version of this article, complete with graphics, here.

An End to Bill Shock?

Mike Manzo, Chief Marketing Officer at Openet, calls for transparency from mobile operators on data roaming charges

Many mobile subscribers still avoid using their phones and dongles abroad due to high perceived costs and a lack of understanding of roaming charges. A recent YouGov survey commissioned by Openet showed that 67% of respondents chose not to use data roaming at all when they were abroad, with only 8% using data services at least once a day. Given that operators are looking at mobile data as a growing source of revenue, it is vital for them to address customers’ fear of ‘bill shock’.
Every summer, stories of angry mobile phone users invade the press as holidaymakers are awakened from their holiday bliss by surprisingly high phone bills on their return. Last year, the EU introduced measures to tackle the issue of bill shock by setting a maximum Euro tariff to be charged for calls and text messaging - now the spotlight is on data roaming within member states.

Cut-off limit
As of last week, mobile phone operators are obliged to offer their customers a monthly cut-off limit. Individuals who do not choose an allowance by 1 July 2010 will have their cut-off limit set at €50 (£45) by default. The EU regulation also states that all consumers will automatically receive a warning when they hit 80% of the chosen limit, and that operators should do a better job of informing subscribers of the costs of data roaming services when they enter a member state.
The new regulation is also limiting the wholesale price of data (setting-up a cap of €1 per MB downloaded), reducing inter-operator charges. The regulators have called on the mobile industry to pass these savings on to data roaming customers swiftly.
Consumers will welcome steps to protect their wallets from unexpected bills, as there is still confusion regarding the cost implications of making mobile phone calls or using data services when travelling abroad.  Users don't understand the charging structures used by mobile operators.
It is in operators’ best interests to address this problem to create additional revenue sources. A customer that suffers bill shock one is likely to be a lost one. According to Viviane Reding, the former European Commissioner for the Information Society and Media: "It's happened to my own children. One shocking bill and they don't use their mobiles abroad anymore."

Transparent billing options
Operators should encourage individuals to use their mobile devices when abroad by selling, and educating users about, roaming data bundles, and providing more transparent billing options, not just before they leave home, but also when they start using their service abroad. This will give subscribers certainty as to their costs and comfort in using their service.
The EU regulations offer operators a push in the right direction, giving them the opportunity to take the moral high ground by making it easier for customers to manage their mobile phone bills. Central to avoiding bill shock is the timely communication of usage information. Consumers should be able to set-up thresholds for different services and manage balances in real time, so that whenever a specified threshold is reached, spend alerts can be sent, and usage restrictions applied, with configurable options to override a limit.
It is time for the mobile industry to take in hand the best interest of their customers by providing greater transparency and simple billing options. Instead of mandating limits to customers, service provides should create tailored services that allow the peace of mind mobile subscribers are looking for when travelling.

The Wisdom of Crowds

Crowdsourcing is the practice of using “ordinary” people to generate ideas and intelligence. Here, Lie Luo, Lead Consultant for Mobile and Wireless at market intelligence firm Global Intelligence Alliance, offers advice to companies looking to crowdsource mobile services

Successful crowdsourcing projects carried out by prominent online service vendors  such as Threadless, InnoCentive, iStockPhoto and Google are now inspiring similar crowd-based concepts in the mobile world.
Like their online counterparts, mobile software and service vendors are attracted by the opportunity of crowdsourcing to drastically cut fixed development costs in areas such as mobile software testing, where crowdsourcing helps firms bypass the need to own or rent physical handsets in distant locations, as well as the need to hire dedicated in-house testers. In many cases crowdsourcing also increases content relevance and appeal by directly sourcing the content from prospective users themselves.

Viral user bases
Mobile firms are also tapping into crowdsourcing models to build up large viral user bases or service offerings within comparatively short periods of time. Mobe4Hire, a crowdsourced mobile testing firm, has been able to quickly build up a tester community representing 2,400 handsets over 239 carriers in nearly 90 countries in just two years - something that used to take many years and hundreds of thousands of dollars in development budget to support.
The ubiquity, real-time streams, improved multimedia capabilities, and mass reach of mobile phones is driving more creative crowdsourced solutions that were previously less feasible or simply impossible on the personal computer. One good example of this is Google Maps traffic data.
As mobile crowdsourcing becomes more commonplace, the cost savings and quicker time-to-market effects will gradually fade as key drivers. Instead, companies will increasingly find crowdsourcing to be an attractive option to ensure content relevance and proof of concept.
Meanwhile, the unique benefits of mobile technology, such as ubiquity, media convergence, and global mass reach, will continue to drive new, innovative crowd-based service concepts over mobile.

Empowered consumers
Advancements in mobile communications technology and higher mobile penetration rates really empower average consumers, giving them greater access to information, social connectivity, and the ability to produce exciting content on the move. This is driving a transfer of industry value from centralized product development to crowd creation and validation. We see this in particular in consumer services that emphasize geo-location or social networking elements.
Mobile phones have become ubiquitous vehicles for real-time communications and user-generated content. The latest figures from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) indicate that mobile subscriptions may reach 4.6 billion by the end of the year, with mobile broadband subscriptions topping 600 million in 2009. Mobile broadband subscribers overtook fixed broadband subscribers in 2008. The actual number of people that use a mobile phone is in fact even higher, given the popularity of pre-paid usage and the trend for phone-sharing in developing countries.
In emerging markets, where there is a noticeable digital divide and significantly lower
Internet penetration, mobile phones are often the sole information and communications channel for the majority of the local population. At the turn of 2009, China saw its domestic mobile penetration rise to 50% while its Internet penetration was just about 23%, according to its Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Success stories
Given the exponential growth in mobile usage, and the relatively low set-up cost of a
crowdsourcing service, it’s perhaps not surprising that many innovative start-ups or projects have quickly emerged. Some of the most notable include:

• Data collection on the move - Google Maps and Waze crowdsource traffic congestion information from drivers’ GPS-enabled mobile phones.
• Social networking - Google Latitude and Loopt generate social networks supported by geolocation features, while Twitter exemplifies the best practice of real-time content streams.
• Product testing - Companies such as uTest and Mob4Hire employ crowds to test newly-developed mobile applications and provide feedback on functionality, load and performance, and usability.
• User-generated entertainment - Emerging mobile video sharing applications services such as Qik and Kyte tap into crowdsourcing to generate a large variety of content,  similar to the role of YouTube on a PC.
• User experience optimization - A similar trend of passive or subconscious crowdsourcing is also occurring, as information vendors such as Google increasingly integrate and analyze mobile usage data extracted from various sources and use the information to help refine and optimize their user experience, as in personalized search.
• Leveraging mass reach - Innovative services such as Google’s SMS Channels and SMS Trader bridge the digital divide by creating a mobile platform for user-generated content and person-to-person trades in emerging markets such as India and East Africa, where these types of services are otherwise unavailable on PC.

Many successful services also take advantage of a combination of the features mentioned above. Ushahidi takes advantage of both the ubiquity and market reach of mobile phones in underdeveloped regions like sub-Saharan Africa, Philippines, and India to crowdsource crisis information such as medical supply stock-outs, political unrests, or swine flu outbreaks.
The mobile video sharing applications of Qik and Kyte enable news organizations such as CNN to provide instant news material over its user-generated iReport channel. An innovative service currently launched in East Africa, txteagle, showcases a great example of collective intelligence and crowd voting by providing users with the opportunity to earn airtime or other currency surrogates by contributing to a wide range of tasks, including software localization, citizen journalism and search relevance, among others.
All these examples take advantage of some or all of the demand for ubiquitous real-time streams, converged multimedia capabilities, and the mass reach of mobile phones.

Rules of engagement
To succeed in mobile crowdsourcing, service vendors need to clearly consider and effectively leverage at least one or all of the described mobile-specific characteristics, instead of simply looking to save development costs, seek user-relevant content, or quickly ramp up operations and offerings.
For successful implementation, mobile service providers must also take into consideration ‘platform’-based service positioning, value-based monetization and flexible business models often based on ‘open calls’.
Most of the service mentioned above position themselves as service platforms or marketplaces, rather than content publishers, vendors or mobile retailers. This is an important factor for success, as it gives users a sense of ownership and incentivizes them to contribute information, content, or volume to the service.
Even in the case of iReport, where CNN purports to hold the right to edit, withhold, and license the submitted content, the company maintains the platform positioning and does not actively edit every upload, both in order to retain the originality of the content and to avoid unnecessary personnel costs.
Perhaps the only exceptions are fee-based services such as uTest, Mob4Hire, and txteagle, where corporate customers pay for the vendor to deploy their crowd resources to conduct application testing and localization. In these cases, the services tend to hold a more proprietary interface, and act as a strict intermediary between the  customer and crowd testers for commercial purposes. Here, the crowd is incentivized by financial rewards and is less concerned with gaining an audience.

Monetization by value
Most mobile crowdsourcing services are currently at the build-up phase and some may not yet have a clearly defined monetization model especially if they represent a breakthrough concept (e.g. Twitter, Qik).
Generally, the commercial model needs to take into account the service value proposition, and there does not appear to be a one-size-fits-all model. On the one hand, Mob4Hire and uTest directly compete against incumbent testing service providers by offering similar billing models, while others such as Google Maps and CNN iReport hope to monetize their services indirectly by integrating with their larger service platforms, and ultimately make money through advertising.
In many cases, services hope to first build up the user base before entering into
monetization (e.g. Google Latitude, Waze, Loopt). If the service is to be fee-based, it is essential to clearly state payment terms and schedule in order to avoid user confusion.
An inherent challenge in building a successful mobile crowdsourcing service lies in managing content diversity and mass appeal. As a pioneer in crowdsourcing services, Google tends to opt for an organic product development approach by experimenting with interface features, or even service features, over time. To date, Google Maps traffic, Latitude and SMS Trader all reflect such a mentality, while even more refined and commercialized services such as uTest also took years for the service concept to evolve.

Organic quality control
Ultimately, the quality of a crowdsourced community is policed by the community itself. For fee-based services such as uTest, Mob4Hire, and txteagle, this is particularly important, since quality is often the number one concern for prospective customers of their services. Like the online examples, such as eBay, these companies typically implement a rating system. Customers would rate the performance of the testers employed for projects and those that receive consistently poor ratings will cease to receive new project offers. The rating system could also be implemented by more media-centric crowdsourcing examples such as Qik, iReport, Twitter, similar to YouTube online, and the goal there is often more to increase content relevance and appeal.
To successfully crowdsource a mobile service, you need to first ensure that the service
concept is unique to the mobile medium and takes advantage of its ubiquity, media convergence or mass reach characteristics. With the exceptions of fee-based services, the service should be designed as a platform, while its business model and product
management should be allowed to evolve organically, rather than approached with a fixed business plan.

Smarter Phones Demand Smarter Service

Chris Shelbourn, Marketing Account Manager at Affordable Mobiles, argues that mobile operators and retailers have to up their customer service game if they are to help their customers make the most of the new breed of sophisticated Smartphones

One unmissable trend in the communications industry over the past 12 months or so is our increasing obsession with Smartphones and their fantastic and diverse features. There is little doubt that the uptake of models such as the iPhone3Gs, HTC HD2 and many Android phones has revolutionised not only the way we communicate, but also the way we live, organise, plan, record and experience our lives.
Today, Smartphones are offering us applications that allow us to plan out our business and social lives like never before, providing instant access to up to date market information, emails and banking services on the business side of things, but also allowing us to find the best local bars and restaurants, check weather reports, plan our routes on journeys, and record the sites and sounds of places we visit before uploading these straight to our social networking sites.
These and other key social features that are now commonplace on many contract phones and handsets that would arguably have been deemed unthinkable around two years ago - even in the rapidly advancing world of mobile handsets. 

Technical features
But these rapid advances in Smartphone technology place a greater demand on the user in terms of learning how best to use and benefit from this massive array of useful - but often quite technical – features. For many users, this can appear quite daunting, especially for those whose previous handset was capable of doing little more than making phone calls and sending and receiving texts.
With this in mind, there is undoubtedly an increased onus on mobile service providers, mobile retailers and other online resources to provide sufficient technical support to guide consumers through the technological maze and deliver a quality of service that extends beyond the traditional expectations of good network coverage, competitive pricing and reliable handsets.
This support has traditionally been provided in store, in a face-to-face customer services environment, but users are now increasingly demanding remote support via more contemporary media. Affordable Mobiles is an example of one online retailer and service provider that has sought to provide customer service and technical support via our website and over the phone that extends beyond the point of sale, thereby allowing users to maximise the functionality of their handsets.

Long-term relationship
We believe that providing quality of service and technical guidance in the long term can allow a company like us to win the trust of our customers and forge a longer-term relationship with them, even if it requires a little investment in time and resource on our part. The feedback we have had from our customers suggests that we are right. As handsets get even smarter, the need for mobile phone retailers and operators to provide the kind of committed support that will enable users to get more from their phones, and generate more revenues in the process, is only going to increase. 

Sour Apple?

Srini Dharmaji, CEO and Founder of GoldSpot Media, considers Apple's recent decision to block apps that use location-based ads

Since launching the iPhone, Apple has made several positive contributions to the mobile advertising industry, but its attempt to block any app that uses location-based ads may curtail growth of mobile app explosion. The following note from Apple blog post recently made the rounds in the tech and media blogosphere:

”If you build your application with features based on a user's location, make sure these features provide beneficial information. If your app uses location-based information primarily to enable mobile advertisers to deliver targeted ads based on a user's location, your app will be returned to you by the App Store Review Team for modification before it can be posted to the App Store."
 
After reading this note, a couple of things immediately came to mind. The first concerns the user experience of the app; the second, the overall health of the mobile marketing ecosystem, which has taken off last year, thanks in part to Apple and the iPhone.  Let’s look at each more closely.
 
The app user experience
Let’s assume for a minute that Apple has the best intentions to provide a superior location ad-free experience for the iPhone user, by eliminating location-based ads that pop up many times while an app is used. The moral ground for Apple being the good police is definitely questionable.  If the user is constantly bombarded with ads that offer location-based purchases, he or she will probably stop using the app anyway. Thee one who suffers the most from the ad deluge is the content publisher or app developer, who has offered the app for free, hoping to make money from advertising.
Why would an app developer risk subjecting the user to an ad deluge if the app is performing well and is being extensively consumed?  For the case of apps with a short shelflife, it doesn’t matter anyway, as very few downloads would have taken place, and more importantly, the app wouldn’t have matched the requisite criteria for any sane advertiser or agency to run a campaign.
 
Mobile advertising ecosystem
The mobile advertising ecosystem is taking off, thanks again to Apple and the iPhone. Media buyers are still struggling to figure out the inventory types that are effective within mobile apps, and how to buy this inventory from the so-called long tail of applications.  These apps are not necessarily branded in the sense of a TV ad buy, but have the potential to reach the desirable audience for a forward-thinking advertiser. 
Apple’s decision to lock out every app that uses location information for advertising will take the industry backwards, as media buyers are not sure if this applies to long tail apps only, or whether big-branded apps from companies like ESPN and CBS,  will be subjected to the same policy.  The ad sales folks on the mobile side of premium publishers will have a hard time convincing their agency and advertiser customers to invest in mobile apps, even though the iPhone market share is small compared to the other Smartphones in the industry. What good is Apple achieving by enforcing location ad locks within apps?
As a business owner, I understand the big opportunity Apple is seeing through their Quattro acquisition, and have no problem with them integrating the Quattro technology into the iPhone/iPad OS and exposing them through the SDK.  Apple stands to gain a lot more from being open to other ad networks, while introducing precise location ad technology with excellent experience to the iPhone/iPad user. It can take mobile advertising to newer heights by adopting an open strategy, rather than being seen as a negative influence on mobile marketing.
 
What´s next?
So what’s next? Apps cannot take demographic information, even if the user willingly opted in?  A block on sending the contextual information of the content being accessed to the ad server?  A block on sending send day-part information? 
If Apple believes that the app ecosystem is a vital part of iPhone sales, what is it achieving by slapping the developers who take the risk to publish free apps and monetize with ads?  If developers cannot make money from the iPhone, they will stop building the apps for that platform and go somewhere else.  I’m sure the folks at Google are happily chuckling away at the naivety of Apple, as it can only increase Android adoption, and lead to more dollars for AdSense.
Sorry, Mr. Jobs.  As much as I admire you and the Apple commitment to excellence, I think your guys got this one seriously wrong!

It's All About Data

As Mobile World Congress gets into full swing, Openwave CEO Ken Denman names the three issues that he believes will dominate this year's event

Today marks one of the busiest days in the mobile industry’s calendar. It’s the start of Mobile World Congress, which sets the tone for trends in the mobile industry for the next twelve months.
There has been much discussion already about the themes and topics that will hit the headlines this year. One that certainly won’t escape attention is the dramatic rise in data traffic – largely down to the growth of mobile devices and the increasing popularity of video streaming – and the strain this is putting on mobile networks. Tied to this will be an argument around monetization: as bandwidth becomes the mobile world’s currency, who must foot the bill for mobile broadband?

Data gridlock
2009 saw tremendous growth in the development of applications for mobile devices. But demand for information is now growing so rapidly in developed markets that many operators are facing the possibility of data gridlock as traffic engulfs the networks. As mobile video consumption continues to rise and new devices such as the iPad become more widely available, consumers will continue to demand more and more from their mobile devices. However, many network providers won’t have the physical infrastructure to keep pace.
If this issue is not addressed soon, consumers will suffer as services grind to a halt. People are beginning to realize that we need to find a long term solution to the problem – and quickly. 
As a result, my nominations for the three top talking points at the show this year are:

The data tsunami
The data overload that has already begun to effect mobile operators will intensify in 2010. The proliferation of data-hungry mobile devices is accelerating the rate at which mobile traffic is increasing putting the 1EB (Exabyte) per month mark about four years away. For comparison's sake, it took almost eight years for fixed line traffic to achieve the same growth. In other words, operators are facing the prospect of seeing their traffic grow faster than the rate at which they can add capacity.

Video streaming
Streaming video on mobile devices will continue to grow in 2010, soon becoming the dominant form of data traffic. Conservative estimates indicate that video will comprise 75 per cent of all mobile network traffic within the next couple years. We also expect to see announcements around advances in mobile video technology and there will also be traction around mobile television.

Who pays?
There will be increased debate between mobile operators and content providers around how the broadband business model is not sustainable in wireless. The wired world has taught us all some bad habits that will not translate into the wireless world. Content provides have dug in their heels about paying the operator to host content on operator networks, but someone besides the mobile operator will need to help pick up the tab.

It’s probably fair to say that everyone in the industry was aware that data consumption was going to increase, but no one could have predicted the scale. What’s clear now is that it has become too large a problem for operators to handle on their own. What is needed is the co-operation of other industry players to help reduce current congestion and future-proof network capability.
There is no one over-riding solution but we are likely to see a number of new ideas, tools and solutions emerge which will help tackle the problem – and it’s likely these will begin to surface at Mobile World Congress 2010.

Barcelona Bound

John Strand, CEO of Strand Consult, looks forward to this year's Mobile World Congress, which opens in Barcelona on Monday

Once again the time is quickly approaching where we and many others will travel to Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona.
All cultures and all industries have their traditions, and this is also the case in the mobile industry, where it is a tradition that over 40,000 people meet in Barcelona to talk about the mobile market, what it looks like and how it is developing. An event like MWC is not just a congress where companies exhibit and show their products; it is also a place where those that follow or work in the industry come to share thoughts and visions and to seek inspiration. For many people, MWC is and will continue to be the place where we not only see what is happening, but where we also meet the visionary people who help influence the mobile market both globally, regionally and nationally.

Financial crisis
Many people are talking about the financial crisis. Fortunately the crisis does not seem to have affected the telco industry as badly as many other industries. In fact, the financial crisis has been good for many operators in the sense that it has given them a good excuse to right-size their organisations and considerably reduce their cost levels. If we were to speak of market players within the telco industry that have been affected by the crisis, it would primarily be within the infrastructure industry. Part of their problem is that the government in many countries cannot tell operators what the region's long-term plans are regarding frequencies and regulations, creating difficulties for operators in formulating long-term strategies that are the foundation of the large investments that drive the infrastructure market.
This year, we believe that many people will say that the biggest challenge for operators is not the financial crisis that hit the world in 2008, nor the latest crisis that hit the PIGS countries (Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain), but the fact that most governments do not have a long-term telco policy that the industry can use as a form of navigation.
Nokia - the world's largest mobile manufacturer - will not have a stand this year, but has instead chosen to piggyback on the conference by inviting people to an event within walking distance of MWC. Or put slightly bluntly, Nokia is choosing to only participate in the freebie benefits of the MWC.

Exciting speakers
Looking through the conference program, we see there are many exciting speakers, but we rather miss the big names, those that make a difference and perhaps some of those that can question the way that the industry is doing business. We have no doubt that the actual conference will be worth a visit, but we miss those speakers that can intellectually challenge the industry. Many of this year's speakers are from the "old boys" network.
And while on the subject of the conference, we believe that the most important event will be the "GSMA Ministerial Program", an event where over 30 ministers and 50 regulatory heads from over 65 countries participated last year. We believe that those that have access to this event on Monday should actively participate and help open the political system's eyes to the importance of conducting industrial politics in the telco area and make them realise that the telco industry is one of the industries that has the best tools to help solve both the financial crisis and the problems that were not solved in connection with COP 15 in Copenhagen last December.

Google’s gameplan
We are looking forward to hear what Google boss Eric Schmidt has to say. It will be interesting to hear how he will avoid the subject of Google's desire to turn operators into dumb pipes. I believe that many people are convinced that Google has not disclosed what its real gameplan is for the telco world and the role it sees itself  playing in the future telco market. There are probably a great many people that see Google as the largest threat to the traditional telco industry.
There is no doubt that the Chinese players will be very visible this year. Not many years ago many people perceived ‘Made in China’ as synonymous with cheap, poor quality products. Today the world is very different, and Chinese players like Huawei and ZTE, and other medium sized companies are now playing a role that is resulting in the traditional Western market players experiencing a level of competition that they would most probably have preferred to avoid.
Once again this year, there are many national stands, and we can again recommend visiting these. Visiting a national stand is often a fast and easy method of getting in touch with small innovative companies that have developed exciting solutions. Some of these companies will grow enormously during the coming years; others will be bought out by bigger market players and some will disappear. Much of the innovation coming from many of the small companies is the type of innovation that will help drive the telco industry during the coming years.

Technological solutions
The list of all the other companies participating at the MWC is abundant with exciting companies from many different areas of the industry. You will find everything ranging from totally unknown handset manufacturers, to companies that have created entertaining services, and others that have developed technological solutions that are so specialised, that you would need to be a specialist within that area to understand and evaluate their solution.
The art for delegates participating in the exhibition is to find the few among the many, companies whose solutions make a difference and who are building their business based on a business model that will create a long-term. sustainable business and that will give a return on investment on the money that customers give to operators every day
For Strand Consult, MWC is a fantastic event, where we can meet people we know and people we would like to get to know. We always run into new exciting people that become lifelong friends. The conference will - as always - be interesting, with a variety of serious speakers and hopefully still a high number of participants. Bring it on!

Controlling Influence

Colm Healy, Vice President of EMEA Services for Qualcomm Internet Services, and General Manager of Xiam Technologies, argues that operators and brands need to put consumers in control of mobile content

The recent explosion of device-centric application stores and the influx of Smartphones and new connected devices into the market is changing consumer expectations around mobile services and applications. When it comes to mobile content, consumers have an expectation that they are in control – an expectation that developed during the era of ‘wireline’ and ‘desktop’ interfaces.  
Consumers are using more mobile content than ever before, however current modes of discovery and usage – such as search engines or operator portals - are limiting the mobile content experience from reaching its full potential. Users have a hard time discovering content that is meaningful to them, and when they do, that interaction is constrained to a single device or network.
To deliver on consumer expectations and enable them to truly take control of their content, operators and brands will need to collaborate to find new areas to add value to the consumer experience. We see three areas as imperative for the industry to thrive: discovery, portability and engagement.

Discovery
Traditional methods of search and discovery don’t translate well to mobile. Most methods do not optimise content discovery, as they typically tend to showcase the latest or most popular content to a general audience. Further to this point, recent research commissioned by Qualcomm revealed that 80% of users noted they had difficulty obtaining content on their mobile handsets, meaning they spent more time searching and less time accessing their content.  
Discovery needs to evolve from search engines to a more dynamic, real-time experience. Consumers shouldn’t struggle to find the one app or piece of content among thousands that they care about. It should find them.
Qualcomm’s research also revealed that 63% of mobile users would spend more time accessing online information or would purchase more content if it were personalised and easier to find.
Operators need to add value by giving consumers the keys to their content. The operator can play an invaluable role in the fostering of relationships between consumers and the content and brands they care about. By leveraging location and user activity, operators will better understand their subscribers, and this in turn will enable them to offer contextual content to consumers. The combination of subscriber knowledge from content providers and operators will help develop content strategies that take into consideration what content the subscriber wants, as well as when and where they want it. This is the key to engendering ongoing brand loyalty across the entire mobile ecosystem.

Portability
To realise the vision of the consumer being in control of their content experience, the content must be portable, providing the user with a truly liberating mobile experience. Providing the consumer with a fantastic experience on one device may be enough today, but what happens when they want to change devices, or when the device they have been using is not suitable for their current location or state?
A key finding of the recent research commissioned by Qualcomm was that 58% of users believe it is important that their content moves with them, regardless of their mobile device. It is crucial that users are able to access any content, no matter where it was purchased or downloaded, through any device they choose, and that the digital experience is consistent across all platforms. Content must be able to follow the consumer when they upgrade devices and must be ‘stateful’ – ready to be picked up where they left off.
An example of this in action would be when a consumer can start listening to their favourite band’s latest album on the web, pick up where they left off on their phone when they head out the door,  and receive personalised updates about upcoming tour dates in their home city via their fan club app – all based on their profile, preferences and state.
The industry is currently in debate regarding cloud computing, but it is this technology that will play aan integral role in driving this level of mobile experience forward. Both native and Internet-based applications access information from the cloud, and thus the cloud will be important in giving consumers absolute control over their content and allowing operators the opportunity to offer ubiquitous access to content on multiple devices.

Engagement
Once operators and brands have collectively tackled the issues of discoverability and portability, they become well positioned to take on the final obstacle – driving user engagement. For consumers, what matters is having access to their preferred content, across all of their connected devices. This puts brands in the best position to create content experiences that span multiple screens, allowing them to foster a dialogue beyond just the initial sale. One example of how this could be done is cross- platform audience engagement – where a user watching a reality show on TV is able to vote online and then keep up with the participants via a fan app on their mobile device.
The opportunity for the operator is in finding a way to facilitate that continued dialogue, while remaining relevant to consumers. Operators can help to deliver impactful digital experiences by blending information such as consumer demographics and behaviors, location-awareness, billing, relationship and brand loyalty. The mobile operator has the ability to create an ecosystem where the network harmoniously bridges the relationship between the consumer and the content they desire. Providing consumers with an engaging experience that allows them to interact meaningfully with the brands they care about will ultimately ensure their loyalty. 
It is time to integrate solutions that bring operators, content providers and device manufacturers together to enable the discovery of content that is highly relevant, but might otherwise go unnoticed.
The mobile experience must evolve away from simple search and discovery and give consumers the control over the content that they have come to expect as part of their mobile experience. This will enable the entire mobile ecosystem to realise the incredible opportunity to increase mobile data usage and sales by providing personalised apps, content and services.
A full copy of Qualcomm’s Whitepaper, ‘Going Beyond an Application Store’ is available here.

Open Season for Open Source

Richard Kinder, VP of Technology and New Business for Europe at Red Bend Software, argues that the open source platform that strikes the right balance between must-have features and a structured development approach will stand the greatest chance of success

Last year, Red Bend exhibited at the Symbian Exchange and Exposition 2009 in London. As expected, attendance was down given the economic situation, but likely also in part because of the fading excitement surrounding the establishment of the Symbian Foundation, which was big news at the previous year’s event.
In many areas, the Symbian Foundation is ahead of the schedule it set for itself. For example, its kernel has been released under the Eclipse Public License. One should not underestimate the amount of work that has gone into an achievement such as this. As with any “new” platform, a major proof point is the availability of devices running on it. Once this happens, I am sure that there will be renewed enthusiasm for the show, but by then, who knows how far the iPhone, Blackberry and Android devices will have evolved.

Lower price points
All is not lost for Symbian yet. It has been successful in enabling delivery of Smartphone functionality at increasingly lower device price points, but the industry has shifted its focus to usability and features. As Apple’s iPhone has proved, even in a depressed economy, consumers will pay for the right high-end Smartphone with the right user experience. In the case of Samsung, which already has its own robust mid-range solution, Symbian will need to offer something unique and compelling for the manufacturer to build on its platform. For Symbian to be successful, its platform must evolve and offer higher-end features in a way that is easily accessible to consumers in order to close the gap with Android and the iPhone. To do this, it must motivate its contributors to add value in the right areas.
The challenges for an open-source platform aren’t limited to Symbian. A key challenge is that of clear and fair governance rules. Each community has different takes on governance, making their challenges unique. Take Google’s Android, for example. Android is available under an open source licence, but some do not consider it an open source project. The platform is controlled by Google, and a majority of the contributions are made by Google. While this approach has some advantages, it is difficult for a contributor to make a real difference to the platform and speed its innovation.

Driving innovation
It’s important to remember that the core ethos of what open source offers is a platform for somebody with an idea to share that idea with other people. Open source brings together communities of like-minded people and should give them a forum to communicate in a way that is natural to them, therefore, lending itself to driving innovation. However, open source has often struggled to shape its “in-the-moment” innovation into cohesive, robust projects. To be successful, open-source platforms will need to find the right balance between in-the-moment features and the slow-but-structured development approach of traditional mobile platforms. Key to this are the governance rules that shape the community around the platform.
So which open source Smartphone platform will ultimately strike that right balance? At this point, you can’t ignore the Symbian Foundation. Nokia’s volumes and desire to drive usability and new features into the category previously serviced by S40 should not be underestimated. With Android, we’re seeing a broad variety of devices at various price points, and it is interesting to see Android scale from the very high end to cost-sensitive feature phones. The LiMo platform has had a big boost during recent months with the announcement of Vodafone 360 and the use of that platform to power the lead products from Samsung. Lastly, other efforts like Maemo and Intel’s Moblin may have an impact in the longer term.
There will be no shortage of compelling Smartphone products, based on varied platforms with differing governance models, usability and features, available in 2010. Coupled with this explosion of platform choice will be an implosion in Smartphone average selling prices, with the possible exception of the iPhone. Competitive pressure, and the increasing tendency for us as consumers to demand more for less, will drive down Smartphone prices. Above all, device manufacturers must consider the technical and commercial impact of their platform choices as never before in order to acquire a new customer base and keep the customers they have. ¡Viva la revolucion! as the Spanish say.

The Great Mobile Advertising Experiment

So Orange has become the latest operator to open up at least some of its subscriber database to advertisers. Brands will no doubt be delighted, though they will be even more so when the number of subscribers available rises beyond the 100,000 with which Orange is launching.
One of the major criticisms levelled at Blyk (whose technology Orange now owns and is using), was that while it was a great offering for test campaigns, it never had the reach to enable brands to run a full-blown campaign, and that was when it had twice as many people on it as Orange is launching with. No wonder brands in Turkey are so keen on Turkcell’s permission marketing database, which at the last count numbered 9 million.
Still, at least Orange is giving numbers, something which O2 has so far steadfastly refused to do for its O2 More offering, arguing that the figure is “commercially sensitive”. Orange has now also come up with an answer to a question we posed this morning, about how many messages it will permit those on the database to receive in a given time period. It says that initially, it is allowing three messages per week, but adds that this limit is not set in stone. (Orange also confirmed that someone texting ‘STOP’ does not count as a response, in the sense of a positive response quoted in response rate figures. A cynical question to ask, you might think, but one that needed asking in the light of rumours we heard about another ad-funded mobile offering.) O2 caps the number of messages at one advertising message per user per day.
This could be a crucial factor in the success or otherwise of these initiatives. Because consumers may be happy to opt in to ads on the promise that what they will receive will be relevant and, potentially, financially rewarding, if they are being offered discounts and special offers, for example. But the minute the offers and ads stop being relevant, or the minute they start getting too many of them, may well be the point at which they opt out, and the operators find themselves with an asset that is diminishing, rather than increasing, over time.
I really hope this doesn’t happen. Because if these moves are a success, if nothing else, it will prove what those on the mobile marketing coalface have been preaching since day one. That if you are open, transparent, and seek consumers’ permission, marketing to people on their mobile isn’t the least bit spammy, (as those coming to mobile for the first time often wrongly assume), but potentially, as good as marketing can get. Whether brands and mobile operators can capitalise on this potential will depend on how carefully they manage the process; on whether they can resist killing the goose that might one day just lay the golden egg.
It will be a year or two before we know the answer to this one.

David Murphy
Editor

Maximising The Data Opportunity

Anand Chandrasekaran, Director, Product Management (Ecosystem) at Openwave, urges operators to see the bigger picture in order to profit from the demand for data services 

The growth of mobile data services has taken a significant upward leap around the world. Operators are seeing increasing demand for data services such as personal GPS systems, social networking, mobile Internet, and Location-based Services to compete with core voice and messaging traffic.
At present, it’s a relatively small proportion of consumers with Smartphones who account for a large proportion of data traffic. AT&T reported in December 2009 that 3% of its customers consumed 40% of its network resources. But Smartphones are the fastest growing category amongst mobile handsets, and so the proportion of consumers demanding data services will increase significantly over the coming years.
It’s not just new Smartphones which are driving increased consumption either. Many data plans encourage subscribers to use more data on their netbooks or laptops via air cards or dongles. Particularly in the North American, European and Asia-Pacific regions, operators heavily promote unlimited all-you-can-eat data plans. In Europe, for instance, incentives include notebooks and netbooks with free mobile broadband. These popular promotions have huge implications: even at 5GB per month, converting 6% of the world's PC users to mobile data usage will produce 4,000 petabytes of data traffic per year.

Exponential growth
In order to manage this exponential growth in data, and more importantly, to profit from it, the mobile industry needs to develop sophisticated ways to mediate all the different pieces of data within the mobile ecosystem. At Openwave, we use the phrase ‘Mobile Data Mediation’, and we define this as the ability to access and integrate multiple sources of mobile data, such as aggregated data activity and browsing history, in order to create valuable insights for mobile Internet organisations, such as advertisers, publishers and applications.
There are some clear ways this can be leveraged. In the past, mobile data analytics tools were used primarily to help operators understand their customers and to better manage data traffic. However, an operator’s ability to understand mobile browsing habits, coupled with aggregated data activity, can be used as a powerful targeting tool for mobile advertising or for content providers. 
Many industry observers believe that mobile advertising is set to hit the mainstream.  Chetan Sharma Consulting conducted a survey which is forecasting 100% growth in 2010 in the US, while Kelsey Group predicts that the market will be worth $3.1 billion (£1.9 billion) in 2013, up from $160 million in 2010. This predicted rise is due to the growth in sophistication of the medium, as well as the ability to closely target individual users.
For example, we recently saw an RFP from a mainstream brand which wanted to identify and target special promotions to expectant mothers. These mothers would be identified using a combination of age, gender, past mobile browsing behaviour and categorization, so that the advertising was specific to them. Mobile technologies are uniquely capable as a channel of this targeted approach and as a result, can clearly differentiate from other marketing channels such as direct mail, TV, billboards, or online banner advertising.

Relevant advertising
In addition, this level of targeting also benefits the user, who will receive much more relevant advertising, which can have real value for them.  This targeting methodology could also be used by content providers, such as retailers for online shoppers. Instead of displaying advertisements to customers, retailers could showcase individual products which are particularly relevant for users. This type of methodology is already used on the PC Internet and is highly successful. Amazon, for example, generates 33% of its revenue from recommending individual products to customers. Once the browsing experience becomes more user-friendly on mobile phones, retailers could do the same thing, but with a greater degree of sophistication. 

Ideal position
Mobile operators continue to occupy the ideal position in relation to the end user. From their central vantage point, operators can collect and accumulate the knowledge that is key to monetising the mobile Internet. The more an operator understands mobile browsing habits, coupled with aggregated data activity, the more they will be able to provide services that are not only relevant, but that subscribers are willing to pay for. For this to be a success, however, operators will need to start looking beyond their traditional ecosystem to include a much broader number of players, so that together they can address these issues, and profit from users’ increasing appetite for data.

IVR - a Marketer's Dream. No, Really

Marlon Bowser, CEO of HTK, explains how integrating text messaging and IVR (Interactive Voice Response) can help increase campaign response rates

The battle for the hearts, minds and airtime spend of the UK’s mobile phone users is fierce. Customers will not hesitate to change their network operator if they can get a better deal or service. And without contract tie-ins, the pre-pay market is the most aggressive.
HTK has been working closely with one of the UK’s largest network operators since 2003, helping it hold on to its position as pre-pay market leader with the highest customer satisfaction rating. The Christmas period is always a busy time for generating new customers, but many network operators experience a higher than usual level of churn in January and February. In 2009, the pre-pay marketing department at this large network operator wanted to concentrate a retention campaign on 225,000 customers acquired in December through one of its largest UK retail partners.
The focus of the campaign was on subscribers who had not taken a ‘free allowance’; with the implication being that those customers were more likely to churn than subscribers who had. This would be one of the first pieces of marketing communication to those customers, so it was vital to get it right. In order to test the outbound SMS campaign, the operator decided to send a different message to two pools of 10,000 customers each. The most successful response rate over a 7-day period would determine the message to be used for the remaining large pool.  

Tariff options
The SMS was compelling. Subscribers were reminded of their tariff options and asked to respond for more information. In the first test-group of 10,000 customers, the call-to-action was simply to reply to the text message. Conversely, the second group was asked to dial an interactive voice response (IVR) line, hosted by HTK.
The results were startling. Of messages successfully delivered to the handset, the SMS reply was 33%, an impressive figure, but not unexpected for such a compelling offer. However, the IVR response was even better at almost two-times the SMS figure, a response rate of 59.5%.
Over the 7-day test of 20,000 subscribers, the conversion rate of customers actually taking-up a new tariff, and therefore showing a loyalty that would help protect against churn, was 24.5% for the SMS channel and 36.9% for IVR. Again, this was a spectacular figure for the IVR response channel.
The SMS-to-IVR campaign trial was deemed a massive success, and was subsequently applied to the entire population of 225,000 subscribers. Over the following three-month period, this resulted in over 61,000 successful conversions. That’s 61,000 ‘at risk’ customers who were actively retained.

Personalisation
So let’s think about this for a moment. IVR is typically thought of as dull, monotonous and even irritating, so how can it work so well for marketing?  Firstly, it comes down to personalisation. By uniquely identifying the caller through their mobile phone number, the ‘campaign IVR’ is able to make an attractive offer straight away, without the need for the caller to trawl through menus in search of what they’re looking for.
This approach of rapidly presenting the most relevant content, individually tailored to each caller, can be extended to two or even three propositions in a single call. Compared to the 160-character limitations of SMS, IVR is a phenomenal way of delivering targeted content. And because the right content is offered straight away, calls are shorter and the cost of marketing is reduced. It’s a win-win formula and a great example of how combining channels can work so well.
IVR has now become a cornerstone of the network operator’s pre-pay marketing activity, handling over 30 million calls per year. Not only does the IVR provide great marketing results and more loyal customers, but it has been proven to help steer calls away from the contact centre too.
And it’s not just for mobile network operators and large service providers. Dynamic and personalised marketing IVR can work for any company with a large number of customers and a diverse range of propositions; whether in retail or finance, insurance, leisure, real estate or utility services.
Unlikely as it may sound, IVR has emerged as a marketer’s dream

Beyond Bandwidth

Owen Cole, Technical Director UK and Ireland, at F5 Networks, argues for an intelligent approach among operators to rapidly-increasing data traffic

With mobile data traffic set to grow by as much as 10 - 15% a month within the next year, mobile network operators (MNOs) are facing the significant headache of how to handle this increase in traffic. As rich media develops, and the popularity of mobile devices such as iPhones and Blackberrys rises, more and more strain is being put on operators and their networks.

Revenue opportunities
While worldwide demand for mobile data services is creating unparalleled revenue opportunities for MNOs, it is also creating network capacity and performance challenges. To continue to provide rich content to subscribers, without taxing network resources, MNOs need to invest in reliable and scalable solutions to deliver content as users’ needs continue to grow.
The real challenge facing MNOs trying to cope with this increase in data traffic is this: do they simply pay for more bandwidth, or do they invest in their networks to make them more intelligent? Adding more bandwidth may be a short-term fix, but ultimately, an inability to drive intelligence into these networks could mean them becoming quickly exposed in under-performing networks.

Bleak outlook
As tariffs become cheaper and more widely available, and operators roll out new technologies such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), the outlook for MNOs in terms of network capacity is even bleaker.
Operators have historically perceived application traffic optimisation as complicated and expensive, requiring multi-tiered deployments of Application Delivery Controllers (ADC), but in fact, this is not the case.
Tapping into cost efficient technologies to supply, optimise and consolidate applications on the network is one way to meet this growing demand. Infrastructure challenges can be overcome by adopting a more intelligent view of data, both on the network and the device that connects to it. To keep up with the demands of 3G and the offerings of future 4G networks, performance and scalability must sit at the core of MNOs’ business models as they look to progress in service delivery.

Technological developments
Solutions are available that recognise the user profile and the type of device being used, and therefore the content they should be served, and how much of the network they can use. Technological developments to consolidate infrastructure and add real Layer 7 intelligence also allow MNOs to have more control over the traffic on their networks.
A tiered system based on speed or data consumption would benefit virtually everyone just as it does in the fixed (landline) broadband market. Those who need to stream movies or large amounts of data can do so with a service that fits their needs and those who just need email or basic web surfing can do that too.
Whatever the handset, one thing is certain - the headache facing operators on how to manage the network, and therefore user’s expectations, is only going to get worse if solutions aren’t put in place now.

 

10 to Watch for 2010

Barry Houlihan, CEO of Mobile Interactive Group (MIG) identifies the 10 trends the company believes will drive mobile services in 2010

2009 has been an interesting year for the mobile industry, and whilst other sectors have not faired well during the econmic downturn, mobile has demonstrated a tangible resilience. The growth in Smartphones and applications together with the innovation in mobile services and marketing, such as new advertising formats and SMS interactivity, have combined to bolster the industry through a generally very difficult economic period. Looking forward to 2010, mobile will continue to grow, innovate and deliver fantastic services to consumers, brands, marketers and media companies. Here’s our take on the 10 key mobile trends for 2010…

Ad-funded Interactive Services
Messaging continues to be a significant channel for interactive services. Broadcasters, media companies, service providers and mobile operators use it with great effect to offer their customers a spontaneous way to interact with them. This might be to vote, enter a competition, provide feedback, or simply to respond to a promotional message. The 'white space' that is left on any return message represents a significant opportunity for advertisers to introduce further marketing messages to this process. What’s more, as a pure-play advertising surface, it gives service providers the opportunity to deliver the interaction as ad-funded, i.e., at no or minimal cost to the consumer.

Rich Media Ad Formats
4th Screen Advertising is developing new rich media ad formats to help brands engage with their target audience. Earlier this year, 4th screen launched iSlide, together with Barclaycard. The new, expandable ad format works on a multitude of Smartphones, delivers innovative and creative advertising experiences, integrates with components such as maps to find your nearest, and with video to enable more creative advertising, and was designed to target tech savvy mobile Internet users. There will be more new formats announced in 2010, including ‘Dynamic Feed’ and ‘SMS Ad Network’.

M-commerce and Micro Payments
2010 will be a defining year for m-commerce, with the evolution of Smartphones and the ever increasing number of alternative payments methods available to consumers. The ability to pay via your mobile phone bill remains one of the least resistant and highly desirable ways of micro payments for goods and services by consumers. Mobile Interactive Technologies (MIT) will continue to drive the use of mobile phones as a payment solution throughout 2010, focusing on new and traditional vertical markets.

Return of SMS Voting to P-TV
Mobile donation mechanics have proven extremely popular in 2009, with Comic Relief ‘Red Nose Day’ raising £7.8 million and Children in Need raising £1.75 million via mobile, clearly demonstrating a huge appetite for mobile interactivity for mass participation events. For 2010, MIG is determined to work across the industry to deliver SMS Voting to our TV screens. The return of SMS voting will enable viewers to participate and interact with their favourite TV shows in a manner that is secure and has consumer confidence at its heart.

The Year of Google Android
There are now 20,000 Android applications, and this figure is set to grow in step with Android-based Smartphone penetration. For developers, there are fewer constraints than with Apple's App Store, and the submission process is simpler. This will have a 'pull' effect on consumer take up and, as with iPhone, deliver great marketing opportunities for the direct-to-consumer market.

Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality, which may have seemed like a niche and rather geeky technology when it first appeared, is set to gain ground rapidly in 2010. Firstly, it makes sense from a consumer point of view – finding things through your viewfinder adds a layer of navigation on to the location already offered by Google Maps. When you add in the relative ease of inserting your own layer into the platform, and the commercialisation that is possible via the search model, it gives reasons for brands to enter the space. In addition, handset manufacturers such as Samsung are providing considerable support in terms of above-the-line promotion, handset homepage placement, and doing deals with brands to be part of the campaigns.

Mobile Internet
There are many catalysts for growth and increased mobile Internet usage, namely the launch of Smartphone devices and flat rate data charges from global network operators that enable ‘all you can eat’ media consumption for data-hungry consumers on the move. In 2010, brands will be more willing to experiment with mobile to interact with consumers at a time that is convenient to them, whilst also providing interactive, memorable and engaging experiences to consumers. Plus, with thousands of different devices, it’s important that a brand’s mobile site renders correctly and maximises the device’s core functionality, such as store location using GPS on iPhones and more.

Mobile Coupons
Brands and other core components in the value chain want mass market mobile coupons to happen, and with one very well known major multiple rumoured to have gone through a massive scanner and EPoS upgrade, it looks like loyalty programmes could be launching onto the mobile platform in 2010. This means that consumers would access their loyalty points via an application on their mobile device. Industry rumour also has it that in the coming months, a restaurant chain will be launching mobile coupons with a mobile network operator. Coca-Cola and Lucozade have already achieved great success with mobile coupons. Watch this space... 

Smartphone Growth
Increased adoption and use of Smarthphone devices will lead more and more consumers to access the Internet spontaneously, whenever they want to, wherever they are. The growth of Smartphones has already started a trend for developers to create mobile web experiences using HTML5, and this will continue throughout 2010, so that consumers will benefit from a rich mobile web-optimised experience.  

Monetisation of Social Media
Social media has been one of the great success stories of 2009, with mobile offering various options for users to interact with their favourite social media platforms. The adoption of social media services via mobile will continue to grow throughout 2010.  Moreover, mobile offers social media providers various channels through which to monetise their services, such as messaging and white space advertising (see above). New channels for monetisation will be introduced throughout 2010, making it the year of social media and mobile.

The iPhone Syndrome

John Strand, CEO of Strand Consult, considers the passion with which iPhone users defend the phone's capablities, as well as its shortcomings

It is no secret that there has been a great deal of hype surrounding the iPhone, and it is also no secret that Apple probably has the most loyal and fantastic customers in the world.
Here at Strand Consult, we have been following the iPhone market and how it has been developing since the beginning. The time that has elapsed from sending out our initial research notes about the iPhone, up to the period surrounding the launch of our report ‘The moment of truth, a portrait of the iPhone’ has been very exciting.
One of the areas that has fascinated us the most is the approach that Apple and the iPhone fans have had to the product, and the energy they have spent defending the product, despite the shortcomings and limitations of both past and present versions of the iPhone.
Simply put, Apple has launched a beautiful phone with a fantastic user interface that has had a number of technological shortcomings that many iPhone users have accepted and defended, despite those shortcomings resulting in limitations in iPhone users’ daily lives.

Stockholm Syndrome
When we examine the iPhone users’ arguments defending the iPhone, it reminds us of the famous Stockholm Syndrome - a term that was invented by psychologists after a hostage drama in Stockholm. Here hostages reacted to the psychological pressure they were experiencing, by defending the people that had held them hostage for sixdays.
Below is a selection of criticisms of the iPhone, and some of the arguments that various hard-core iPhone fanatics have been using since the iPhone initially launched to answer them.

1. The first iPhone was not a 3G phone: What do you need 3G for? You can easily use the iPhone without using a 3G network and anyway, 3G is not particularly widespread, so this is not a problem.
2. The phone cannot send MMS: There is no need to send MMSs, hardly anybody sends MMSs.
3. You cannot forward a SMS: This is a function that hardly anybody uses and was therefore not included in the first iPhones.
4. The phone has a poor camera: The built-in camera is perfectly adequate and the iPhone takes fantastic photos with its camera.
5. It is not a real Smartphone, it cannot multitask: The phone has all the necessary functions and the OS is technically superior compared to other Smartphone OSs currently on the mobile market.
6. The iPhone cannot multitask, resulting in a great number of applications being unusable: The absence of multitasking is a deliberate design decision resulting in a faster user interface.
7. You cannot change battery on the iPhone: How many customers run around with spare batteries? None or very few.
8. Apple decides which applications you can install on the phone: This is good, because Apple thereby ensures that you do not get inferior programs on your phone.
9. The Aapp Store is a closed universe: Apple knows what is best for end users, which is good for the many iPhone users.
10. The phone does not support Java, so games need to be developed especially for the iPhone: Java is slow and not properly integrated with mobile phones. Games for the iPhone are much better because they are directly developed for the iPhone.
11. The App Store contains numerous small trivial commercial programs: The App Store’s large selection gives users the freedom of choice and the many small programs help make the end users’ daily lives more fun.
12. It is difficult to use the touchscreen for fast SMS messaging: The touchscreen makes the phone easier to use and you quickly get used to it.
13. The iPhone is a low technology phone packaged in a sleek design: Apple has taken the combination of the design and UI to the next level, therefore the technological specifications don't really matter.
14. The quality of the phone is poor, calls are often interrupted and network coverage is poor: It is a good phone, these problems are due to the operators’ networks and not the phone.
15. You can only purchase the iPhone from operators chosen by Apple: Apple has spent a great deal of time and energy selecting the best operators for customers.
16. The iPhone is targeted at a niche segment and will not be able to develop further: Apple has succeeded in designing a phone for people that appreciate design and user friendliness.
17. The iPhone does not support memory cards: iPhones already offer the necessary memory people require and end users can choose between two models, one with a little memory and one with a great deal of memory.
18. You cannot install your own browser: The browser Apple has designed is so superior that you do not need any other browser on your phone.
19. You cannot use the iPhone as a modem for your laptop: People that have an iPhone do not need their laptop when on the move.
20. There is no radio in the phone: You do not need a radio in your iPhone because the iPhone supports iTunes, and iTunes offers almost unlimited music.

 As you can see, there are many arguments for and against the iPhone. On the other hand, there is no doubt that Apple has some of the most loyal end users on the market, and that iPhone users will go out of their way to defend the phone they love.
There are many similarities to the Stockholm Syndrome and from an outside perspective, there is little doubt that many mobile phone manufacturers are most probably envious of the users on Apple's platform.
In reality, the iPhone is surrounded by a multitude of people, media and companies that are happy to bend the truth to defend the product they have purchased from Apple. We believe that there are indeed many similarities between the Stockholm Syndrome and what we have taken the liberty to start calling the ‘iPhone Syndrome’. Other phone manufacturers must be very envious of the euphoria that Apple has invoked in its customers.

The Year Ahead in Mobile

Jay Seaton, Chief Marketing Officer at Airwide Solutions, offers a personal view of the key trends and issues in mobile marketing in 2010

Pioneering technologist Alan Kay once said that “the best way to predict the future is to invent it.” Reflecting on another year gone by, this comment rings especially true. For mobile, 2009 marks a year of outstanding innovation and growth; communication in 140 characters became all the rage as Twitter reached mainstream consciousness; Apple delivered its one billionth application download from the App Store; Orange and T-Mobile announced plans to merge their UK businesses to become the UK’s largest network provider; and O2 overtook BT in UK revenues.
So what’s in store for 2010? Here’s how I see things shaping up…

Revenues rising, profit margins tightening
Driven in no small part by the iPhone and other Smartphone devices, increasingly available mobile bandwidth and higher network speeds, mobile data services will break the $200 billion (£123 billion) mark in 2010, according to Portio Research. But from an operator perspective, the continuation of this model is not a sustainable one. As more users subscribe to unlimited data price plans, traffic on downloads is rising at a rate that operator revenue can not keep pace with. The challenge for operators in the coming 12 months will be to begin to prepare customers to pay premiums for high usage or optimal quality of service.

SMS revenues will break $100 billion in revenue
The humble SMS, one of the original mobile communication tools, remains key to facilitating today’s enhanced, feature-rich mobile services, which will in turn drive mobile data revenues. According to analysts at Portio Research and Informa Telecoms & Media, SMS revenues will continue to grow rapidly, breaking the $100 billion mark next year.

Location-based services will find a home
Informa predicts that location-based services (LBS) will surpass the $2 billion revenue mark in 2010, with growth anticipated to reach $6.5 billion by 2013. The industry is realizing that location alone is not a revenue-generating service in its own right – but is recognizing that it can provide valuable enhancements to existing services that will greatly stimulate services like mobile search, mobile advertising and social networking, making these services more relevant, actionable and personal. As an increasing number of mobile devices (like Smartphones) offer built-in GPS, and because operators can now expose location APIs even for non-GPS phones, the addressable market for LBS will continue to greatly increase.

Mobile payments will find their way into developed markets
Until now, mobile payment services have been successful predominantly in countries where mobile penetration outstrips traditional banking services. In developed markets, the challenge had been about building consumer trust. Now, issues such as security, regulation and quality of service are dominating peoples’ minds. Once these issues are effectively addressed (using SMS as the most reliable and ubiquitous foundation) and consumer trust is won, the ease of use of mobile financial services will drive its uptake. Informa expects that this market will grow from $0.4 billion in 2009 to $5.9 billion in 2013.

Mobile social networking will come of age
In 2010, operators and social networking sites will find a way to jointly monetize mobile social networking. Today, implementations of mobile social networking are fragmented; mostly using browsers and dedicated handset apps. However this only addresses a subset of the Smartphone market, as the only viable and accessible user experience they present is on the iPhone. Until now, the flood of unbillable Mobile Terminated messages from social networks was an issue for using SMS and MMS to address the mass market, but now enhancements such as MT charging, anti-spam, location, ad insertion and hash-tagging will enable the operator to engage in new business models for two-way social networking traffic.

Android - iPhone fight will increase in intensity
We will see more and more Android-based phones entering the market in 2010 – so it will be interesting to see if the semi-monopolistic iPhone hype will be reduced to normal proportions as the open model for Android provides a good alternative to the relatively closed iPhone. Will Android-based phones also generate a higher data ARPU than average phones? Given the possible greater penetration of Android phones, this could give an enormous boost to data revenues.

Operator app stores vs. handset app stores: raising the stakes
As handset vendors like Apple, BlackBerry and Nokia are tightening their bond with end users, operators like Vodafone, Orange, AT&T and China Mobile have announced comparable app stores, with a mix of handset apps, widgets and networked applications based on Network APIs. While handset-based app stores are great from a user experience point of viewm, as they are designed specifically for the handset, they are limited to subscribers who own Apple, BlackBerry or Nokia Smartphones, which is currently less than 10% of the market. Operator app stores have the ability to reach the mass market and can be enhanced with a range of capabilities, like messaging, security, location, charging, user profiling, and many more. The stakes will only get higher in 2010 as the battle rages on!

Proliferation of mobile security issues will impede the uptake of new services
According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive, 65% of mobile users are concerned about safety, with 44% of users having reportedly been victims of mobile spam. The increased opening of networks and handsets release myriad new threats, which will not only lead to increased customer care and infrastructure costs, increased churn and brand damage, but will also hinder the uptake of services like mobile financial services and mobile advertising. For example, according to Harris, more than 70% of users would be prevented from using mobile financial services. Already in recent weeks we have witnessed the emergence of the first iPhone worm, proving that no technology or service is immune from cybercriminals. The industry must work together to tackle security threats in order to enable the continued evolution of enriched features and services.

RCS and IMS: wait and see, but be prepared
Operators, infrastructure vendors and messaging vendors are joining forces to push technologies like IMS (IP Multimedia Systems) and RCS (Rich Content Suites) in order to introduce sticky, converged communications services to fend off ‘over-the-top’ providers like Skype, Facebook and Google. However, the cards have not been dealt yet on whether or not this is the Holy Grail for which the industry has been waiting. The adoption of IMS is growing, but for mobile messaging, does it solve any of the actual problems that the end user has today? Until all-IP LTE creates a critical penetration on phones (not laptops), is it still a solution looking for a problem? There are still questions to be answered, In the meantime, however, it is important to start preparing, with friendly user trials focused on a better converged messaging experience and interworking with SMS and MMS. As we did with SMS and MMS, we need to focus on how we can use IMS and RCS to add value to enhance third party applications and services.

Network sharing - and the need for flexible modules for service innovation and delivery optimization
As we have witnessed with the merger between Orange and T-Mobile in the UK, from a telco perspective, sharing networks is becoming increasingly more important. The sharing of radio networks is the most obvious cost-saving opportunity, but for service delivery infrastructures, it is also important to be as flexible as possible. It is difficult to predict initially which services will be successful, so modules for service innovation should have the capacity for regional deployment (for local services) as well as centrally (for larger apps like social networking with Twitter for example). It should be possible to have a balanced mix of fully centralized and local modules for traffic delivery optimization, depending on transmission cost, location of expertise, regulation, etc.

Ten Years of Innovation

Amit Daniel, VP Marketing at Starhome, looks at the evolution of Roaming over the past decade

Think back to the ‘90s – what mobile phone did you have? What could you do with it? Not that much! Local calls, SMS that was about it. Your mobile phone was only ‘mobile’ so long as you used it within the coverage area of your home network. Handy at home, not much help when you had to travel abroad and needed to make a call.
Mobile networks in the ‘90s were in the early stages of development, and service capabilities were limited. The potential existed to build a global network for outbound roamers, but roaming Value Added Services (VAS) solutions were still in their infancy.
Let’s take a look back at the major milestones and the evolution of mobile roaming to see how far we’ve come. 

1999-2002 - The Arrival of the Virtual Home Environment 
After the first successful roaming call was made in the early ‘90s, the race was on to sign and reach as many partner networks as possible, in order to extend coverage for potential roamers.
In 1999, the first Virtual Home Environment (VHE) solution made its debut in the roaming world. VHE allowed outbound roamers to access their VAS while roaming abroad using shortcode dialling applications and, later on, through call-correction applications.
These seamless applications provided roamers with simplified dialling, and satisfied the needs of 92% of users, who, at the time, said that a solution that would allow them to dial their voicemail box and access their VAS from abroad would be very useful. Welcome SMS solutions were introduced and enabled operators to promote their solutions and services to both inbound and outbound roamers.
The Vodafone Group launched the VHE with Starhome in 2001. The solution was a major breakthrough and allowed Vodafone to offer enhanced services to its users. Before VHE was launched, roamers’ access to services such as voicemail and customer care, was confusing, with dialling obstacles and mobile-phone related challenges. However, the arrival of VHE introduced a new dimension to the roaming experience. Roamers abroad were able to benefit from seamless access to the VAS they used at home wherever they travelled, all within the Vodafone footprint. Vodafone was the first global group to offer these services to its roaming customers and continues to use the VHE service across its global markets.
The ability of the Intelligent Call Assistant (ICA) to analyze and correct dialling mistakes made it an essential tool for optimizing operator revenues. Mobile One - Singapore, was one of the operators to reap the benefits of these new and innovative solutions, as its representative, Tiong-Heng Tan, said: “ICA is able to correct more than 65% of the failed calls on a monthly basis, which otherwise would be lost.” Revenue and traffic at Mobile One increased by 65 - 75%.
‘Feel at home while you roam’ solutions were received by many mobile operators with great enthusiasm and were widely acknowledged as the next big step in mobile roaming. These futuristic solutions led to further developments in the mobile market.

2003 - Steering the Roaming World
The meteoric rise in the number of roaming subscribers prompted mobile operators to take firm control over their roaming revenues and expenses. Operators entered into roaming agreements with partners in order to optimize their potential roaming revenues. However, an obstacle stood between a profitable and an unprofitable agreement – operators did not have the means to steer outbound roamers to preferred roaming partners. Ensuing battles commenced as operators fought to gain control of outbound roamers.
The arrival of Steering of Roaming solutions was another major breakthrough. Intelligent Preferred Network (IPN) solutions enabled operators to steer their outbound roamers to preferred roaming partners according to their specific business, technical preferences and priorities. IPN became a valuable aid in roaming negotiation agreements. Developments to offer advanced technological techniques to combine Over-The-Air (OTA) and SS7 (Signaling System Number 7) solutions caused the IPN solution to snowball.
Initial feedback from operators was encouraging. The Telefonica group, one of the first operators to implement IPN, was more than impressed with the solution’s capabilities – Ms. Ivonne Lopez Pastor, from Telefonica Internacional: “IPN widely surpassed the performance expectations we had anticipated.” Revenue and traffic increased by 10 - 20% at Telefonica Internacional.
 
2006 – The Shift from Flat to Innovative Pricing Offers
2006 saw the roaming market becoming more and more competitive. Flat and premium rate roaming tariffs were edging their way toward the archives of roaming history, as operators began to focus more closely on devising new and appealing packages for roamers. Sophisticated marketing packages and bundled pricing became a highly effective way for operators to increase revenue and set new market trends. These new packages led to an unprecedented rise in mobile roaming usage. The exorbitant fees charged by operators did not escape the watchful eye of the European Union, however, and it very quickly prompted an investigation.
The announcement from the European Commission to regulate roaming on public mobile networks for voice calls influenced many corners of the mobile market. It followed one of the fastest ever political agreements between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission. Mobile operators were forced to offer new price packages, bundles, and special offers for vacation time and peak periods in order to comply with the regulation.
Operators were less than happy at the prospect of reducing their roaming revenues, and looked for solutions that would comply with the new EU regulations. Effective ways to implement damage control on their revenue was also a priority. Roaming tariff notification solutions gave subscribers up-to-date details on their roaming tariffs and allowed them to take control of their mobile roaming usage, as specified by the new EU regulations. Roaming tariff notification was twofold; it increased roaming usage and, in turn, provided compensation for the price reduction forced on operators.

2008-2009 - Actualize and Optimize
Following the fast Internet evolution, the mobile Internet became a new part of the mobile life style. Soaring operator revenues were being fuelled by roamers using sophisticated handsets such as BlackBerrys and iPhones, coupled with the increasing trend towards accessing social networks on the mobile. The ease of use for BlackBerry/iPhone and other high-end handsets resulted in roamers returning home to face outrageously high bills, and the term ‘bill shock’ was born. 
Bill shock triggered another investigation by the European Union; this time the focus was to further control expenses while roaming, with a specific focus on data and voicemail. The new regulations affected the mobile operators in several ways, including controlling roamers’ usage; fierce operator pricing competition; and a ban on charges for voicemail deposits resulting from redundant international call legs, (aka ‘tromboning’.) Tromboning occurs when a roamer’s unanswered call is forwarded back to the home voicemail.
Bill shock prevention solutions were released that enabled subscribers to control and manage their data usage while abroad, and also supported complex rating tariffs. Voicemail tromboning solutions satisfied the new regulations by eliminating international tromboning while still maintaining full voicemail capability.
Gateway Location Register (GLR) solutions hit the market as the next phase of steering of roaming. GLR solutions updated operators’ networks with intelligent capabilities to monitor, manage and reduce the amount of signalling messages sent via signalling providers, and therefore enabled the visited networks to maintain their inbound roamers on their networks.
Operators began to realize the potential benefits of investing in their prepaid subscribers, which for a long time was a critical yet neglected corner of the roaming market. However,
operators were not prepared to invest substantial sums of money in CAMEL (Customised Application for Mobile network Enhanced Logic) integration and agreements. Prepaid without CAMEL technology followed. Seamless prepaid without CAMEL allowed roaming for prepaid subscribers in any network with which the home network had a roaming agreement and did not require CAMEL technology.

The Future is Bright…
The last 10 years has seen the roaming market jump in leaps and bounds, from basic mobile usage in a Home Public Mobile Network (HPMN) to global roaming in a VHE for both prepaid and postpaid subscribers. The implementation of effective and robust solutions that have answered a range of demands made on the roaming market has each left a unique footprint along the way. 
From recent discussions with operators and key industry analysts, future trends will lean toward dynamic interactive roaming marketing and relations management tools that will better target and offer roamers an improved roaming experience, while generating revenues for operators. 
Moreover, the continual evolution of the mobile market will lead to new needs and requirements for operators and subscribers. A glimpse into the future sees tailored solutions for roaming mobile payments, machine-to-machine and Mobile TV.
The challenge to compete with the past will be measured by the achievements in the future. It leads us to wonder what we will see when we look back at roaming in another 10 years time.

Mixed Messages

Mark Brill, Chair of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) Mobile Marketing Council and CEO of txt4ever, responds to criticism of the DMA’s latest research on mobile, and argues that the mobile marketing industry is failing to get its message across to brands and agencies

In a recent comment in this magazine about the DMA's UK Spam study into mobile spam (12 November), David Murphy posed the rhetorical question: "I just wonder how many more studies we need to tell us that consumers are happy to receive marketing messages on their mobile phone, so long as they have agreed to receive them.”
Of course, for those of us entrenched in the mobile marketing sector, the question of consumer interest in mobile marketing is familiar and well understood. The UK Spam Study wasn't conducted with a view to preach to the converted. The DMA conducted the study because of its concern that the mobile marketing sector is failing to convey the right messages about mobile marketing to the wider brand and agency audiences. In publishing the UK Spam Study, the DMA has sought to improve understanding in a number of ways.
Firstly, we all make assumptions, and having studies that either confirm or challenge them is useful. Such information is only useless if it can't be acted on. Secondly, the study went far beyond simply looking at consumer interest in receiving mobile marketing messages. It also addressed key issues, such as consumers' favoured time and frequency for receiving SMS marketing messages, as well as the all-important opting-out process. Thirdly, it's clear that some agencies and many brands do not appear to understand about mobile user content or how to engage with their customers through the medium.

Getting it wrong
I believe that it's the last point that makes the UK Spam Study all the more important. As a mobile marketing practitioner I take great interest in watching brands taking their first steps into adding mobile into their marketing mix. Unfortunately, all too often I see them getting it wrong. For example, a major retail brand recently sent marketing text messages using mobile numbers of customers who had not specifically opted-in to receive that kind of information. Whilst the data would have been regarded as a soft-opt in and within the regulations, much of it was more than a year old. The result was that the retailer had a poor - even hostile - response from its customers.
Brands typically assume that their customers want to receive their marketing messages. However, mobile is a very personal medium, and when encroaching on such sensitive territory, it is dangerous to make assumptions. If a brand carries out a poorly managed campaign which does not adhere to their users' perception of permission, and as a consequence receives a poor, or even hostile response, then the net result is that the brand will judge that mobile marketing doesn't work. Not only does the UK Spam Study help to reinforce what marketers need to be mindful of when conducting a mobile marketing campaign, it also helps brands to understand the power of mobile marketing when it's done correctly.
I agree with David’s comment that we mobile marketers should be looking forward. This is why the DMA is hosting a number of specialist seminars, publishing new research papers and launching a new initiative during 2010 to help establish mobile marketing as a successful mainstream marketing channel.

Appsolutely Fabulous

Jason Lackey, Marketing Manager at Innopath considers the future for operator-branded app stores

Operators are in a tough position. Voice revenues are declining, yet bandwidth and support costs are rising, putting them in a bit of a bind. But while Smartphones and superphones are creating heavier burdens, they also present new opportunities. One of those opportunities is the App Store. While not the first, Apple’s effort is the high-water mark of the genre, and represent both a missed opportunity and an extreme threat to the operator.
One of the greatest fears of many operators is that they will become a ‘dumb pipes’. In some ways, the Apple/AT&T deal has come to represent the sum of all fears. Control of the handset lies with Apple. Control over updates lies with Apple. Support lies with Apple. Branding and the customer experience are all owned by Apple. Additional revenue in the form of software sales also lies with Apple. Looks like a bit of a disaster for the operator, but what can they do?
One of the things that operators can do is to launch their own app stores. Verizon Wireless is taking this approach and with its app store, Verizon will handle the billing, sharing a generous split with the developer. Verizon-branded handsets - remember, on CDMA networks like Verizon and Sprint, operator-branded devices are pretty much the only option, unlike the inherently more open GSM networks like AT&T, T-Mobile and much of the rest of the world outside North America, including Korea and Japan - will not come with platform app stores out of the box, although a subscriber could download them if so inclined. Of course, with offerings such as Ovi and the Windows Mobile efforts, finding and downloading the app store application is sometimes a lot easier said than done.

Billing relationship
This model is similar to the iTunes/App Store model where the folks running the app store have a pre-existing billing relationship with the subscriber. This provides an advantage, in terms of logistics and execution, when it comes to impulse buys, which are less likely to happen if you have to whip out that credit card and do a lot of awkward input with the limited keyboard of a mobile device. This is an advantage that is not shared by the Platform app stores such as Windows Mobile, Nokia’s Ovi or the Android Market.
One advantage that Apple’s approach will have over any operator app store is the fact that Apple is able to reach, more or less, its entire global installed base with a single App Store. This brings critical mass and the potential for very large sales numbers for developers of successful apps. Additionally, Apple has so far managed to avoid fragmentation of the market, such that developers can write an application once and be done with it. Interestingly, it is rumoured that Google is working on an open market Google-branded device, which could help address device fragmentation by providing a referential centre of gravity for development efforts.
In the past, operators such as Verizon may have had something like a unified platform with Brew, but as Smartphones have come to eclipse featurephones running Brew in the hearts and minds of high-value, and increasingly mainstream subscribers, platform fragmentation will be a concern for operators. Again, taking a look at Verizon, not only does it have Brew, but also Windows Mobile, Blackberry/RIM, Android and other platforms to support. While it may have a very large subscriber base, it is fragmented across these several platforms. That said, at least localization and cultural issues don’t really come into play, as they would with a global app store such as Apple’s.

The operator’s advantage
Indeed, here is where operators have an advantage. While the platform providers have the choice of either facing a global market and installing mechanisms for avoiding offending the easily offended (the number 13 is unlucky in the west, Chinese gamblers don’t like the number 4, some colors are bad, some dates unlucky), or of eating the overhead of having multiple sub-stores, each with its own local standards and practices, operators are usually in a better position. By being based in the markets that they serve, they will, by nature, be more in tune with the cultural sensitivities of their subscribers than a remotely-located platform provider is likely to be.
Technological evolution has also helped strengthen the app store. Early iterations were ghastly, grim little ‘WAPpy’ affairs with a small, sad little assortment of things barely rising above the “Hello world” muck, unlikely to surprise and delight. Network operators have come a long way. Now app stores usually offer some sort of optimized client, as well as refined, sophisticated web interfaces. The presentation is different, the technologies are different and the subscriber experience is better.
While sideloads (web to PC and over to phone via cable) and http downloads have taken us far, the future of mobile content distribution, like the terminals themselves, is going to be evolving and changing like the world of laptops and PCs. This should come as no surprise, as mobile devices have, in effect, become small computers. Standards for the management and delivery of software Over-The-Air (OTA) are also coming into existence. The Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) defines a standard Software Component Management Object (SCOMO), for doing such things, including the delivery of the bits, as well as later activation and/or removal of applications. Peer-to-Peer networking, including Bit Torrent and other similar mechanisms, provide for massively-scalable, easy-to-implement and cost-effective content distribution networks. Mirroring the transition from sideload to OTA content, support will follow the same model.

Virtuous circle
While it is not entirely clear what the future of the app store will be, it is clear that the mobile subscriber is in for a treat. Better hardware, more capable platforms and a far wider selection of applications are all factors converging to create not only a better end-user experience but also significant opportunity for developers, device makers, platform providers and operators. The coming of the Superphone is creating a virtuous circle, where better devices feed demand for apps, which feed the demand for better devices.

In Praise of Apps

Amit Gupta, Co-founder and Head of Business Development of mobile ad network InMobi, pays homage to the power, and advertising potential, of mobile applications

Mobile applications are a fast growing area in the mobile ecosystem, and are a hot topic in most industry forums these days. Due to their unique format and captive audience, they offer a huge potential for mobile marketing and advertising. In fact, it has become one of the preferred modes of mobile advertising for many brands and agencies for a lot of reasons.
Using mobile apps for advertising is all about leveraging Smartphones' inherent rich media and platform capabilities. Mobile advertising used to miss the wow factor; apps fill that gap. I am personally very excited about it.
The fundamental reason for this is that mobile apps can deliver a richer and more compelling user experience than most other modes of mobile advertising. As the phone’s capabilities start to get better, the feel of the application also improves. For example, a game with motion sensors to move in different directions is way more attractive than a game with button controls. Hence, as better phones begin to hit the market, more innovative apps are developed that use the enhanced features of phones, giving users a very engaging experience. Hence, an increasing number of brands have begun to sponsor an entire application and provide it for free for consumers, creating a big opportunity for brand awareness.
The apps on mobile phones can make use of all the phone’s features, such as the camera, GPS, media player or 3D graphics. If ad campaigns are designed to effectively utilize the mobile phone’s capabilities, it can lead to very engaging and successful ads.
Apps that provide value to the user usually stay on the user’s phone, and offer the potential for viral distribution. Moreover, if the app is designed such that it does not need to be connected to the Internet, then it can also be used when the user is offline. This boost usage of the app, in turn resulting in higher brand impact.
These are just a few of the advantages that in-app advertising can provide. Since the potential of  in-app advertising has been revealed, the ads on the apps are becoming as innovative as the apps themselves. You can have a full-screen ad before the app loads, or ads can be embedded into the application. A racing game app with ads shown around the race track is a good example.
While in-app advertising is definitely gaining momentum, there exists another school of thought which believes that the future of mobile will be driven by the mobile browser. The ever-decreasing rate of data charges is driving the use of the mobile web, and there may soon come a time when users are always connected to the Internet on their phone, removing the need for offline or in-app advertising.
Considering that both ideas have credit, one can only wait with anticipation for the mobile future to unfurl.

Social Climbing

How can mobile operators capitalise on the social networking phenomenon that is sweeping the globe? Avichai Levy, EVP marketing at mobile multimedia and advertising company Mobixell shares his views

It seems to me that the entire world has gone social networking crazy. With 67% of global Internet users signed up to one or more social networking or blogging sites and Web 2.0 applications like MySpace, Bebo, Facebook, Twitter and You Tube widely acknowledged as  the new media wave of the decade, social networks have not only crossed the chasm, they have positively vaulted over it. 
The next stage of the migration from desktop to mobile is inevitable. Mobile is a natural fit for social networks, since consumers are accustomed to connecting with friends via mobile calls and texts. So using the phone to access social networks is a natural progression to the change of consumers’ habits in how they view and use their mobile phone. 
The latest European statistics from market research firm Comscore for the first quarter of 2009 indicate that 15.2% of teenagers and 19.5% of young adults under 25 are already accessing social networking sites on mobile devices. At the same time, mobile operators are experiencing an increase in data ARPU, but not enough to cover the decrease in voice revenues. All the evidence points to the fact that mobile operators have a great opportunity to capitalise on this wave of interest, beyond just providing the pipe to deliver the service. So how can they achieve this, and what will some of the attractive by-products of embracing this new social networking vogue be?
 
Jumping on the Web 2.0 bandwagon
Katrina Bond, an analyst at Analysys Mason wrote in a report last year on this very subject: “Mobile social networking is stimulating growth in mobile data usage and revenue, which is crucial for mobile operators as their voice revenue comes under increasing pressure.”  
So how can they play a part in the social networking vogue that is sweeping the globe?   
Currently users access social networks on their mobile by three primary means: by browsing over the mobile web; by downloading various client applications; and by SMS. The downsides of these different options are apparent. Mobile web access is generally too slow, and the process too cumbersome, and the user browsing experience un-enticing, especially on widespread feature phones, which will inevitably prevent this approach from gaining mass market adoption quickly  enough to close the declining voice to increasing data revenue gap. 
Downloadable applications, on the other hand provide a good user experience. Their use is limited by device type, however, and typically excludes the use of feature phones, and once again, the ease of use in downloading client applications will deter all but the more technically literate. 
SMS alerts are increasing in popularity (according to Nielsen by the end of 2008 an estimated 3 million US mobile users were texting Facebook on a regular basis). However, SMS degrades the media richness of social media sites to plain grey text. Media rich Internet services deserve no less than rich media bearer services that maximize the user experience. 

Social Media Gateways
More recently, new technology in the shape of Social Media Gateways (SMG) from companies like Mobixell, has emerged to overcome these constraints and offer mobile operators an opportunity to assume a critical position in the value chain. This new technology enables mobile operators to offer their subscribers an easy to use, clientless means of accessing all of the main social networking sites on the move via messaging applications such as MMS. And since MMS is already being used to get social media updates, it offers an easy transition for the subscriber.  Users can register a phone to receive MMS (or SMS) updates for any social media posted by their friends. So how does it work?
Mobile subscribers provision themselves by a one-time process through the operator’s web or WAP portal to register and specify which social networks they would like to connect to; the type of service, frequency or capabilities they want to adopt; and the friends they want to receive messages from. SMG monitors the social networking sites for each user and, once a media update appears, the subscriber receives an MMS or SMS (dependent on the mobile device or subscriber pre-defined preference) to their handset. Once the subscriber receives the MMS/SMS update, they click on the link and initiate a web/WAP access to the media album to send a photo, a video streaming session to view the video clip, or simply reply via MMS. The reply will be posted on the social media site as a comment or a rating. 
This new approach allows mobile operators to provide a network-based solution that enables mobile users to receive social media updates, including multimedia updates, on any phone.  What’s more, it is achieved without requiring the user to download any client software. This breakthrough offers mobile operators a unique opportunity to broaden the user base of mobile social network users beyond the high-end Smartphones, and add significant value to the proposition to act as a key differentiator in the market place and position them as much more than just a dumb pipe.

Improving the user experience
The advantages of this approach are also apparent to subscribers. For those who are already conversant with sending MMS messages, there is no additional learning required or complex client software to be downloaded. The joys of social networking from your mobile will be available to all mobile phone owners – not just the minority of users with Smartphones. But there’s also an additional advantage, because a key component of this SMG entails adapting and transcoding the multimedia content to optimise the quality of the user experience, using built-in intelligence that detects the specific device, network and bandwidth available and automatically optimises it for that individual user. 
Yet there is still more good news for the operator. Pilots of SMGs have demonstrated that there is a direct correlation between the increased usage of social networking sites on mobile devices and a tendency to upgrade to ‘all you can eat’ unlimited messaging and data/Internet packages. If all this fails to convince the operator of the advantages of SMGs to their business, there’s one additional benefit. Social networking sites are an excellent conduit for mobile adverts that take on a viral dimension. An additional option in serving up the MMS to subscribers is to insert targeted adverts into the message which can be delivered in a variety of different formats. This gives rise to additional revenue generating opportunities for brand owners, with the possibility for ad content to be virally communicated to all friends and contacts of the primary subscriber. A ‘win win’ combination for user and operator

Self-evident opportunity
The opportunity for mobile operators to play a key role in the evolution of social networks from the desktop to the mobile is self-evident. SMGs offer attractive advantages for operators in helping to increase revenues by offering a social network monthly subscription package, as well as the possibility of ad-funded revenue. It has the additional advantage of growing premium MMS and SMS data traffic and motivating subscribers to upgrade to advanced or unlimited messaging packages and opening up the social networking phenomenon to non-Smartphone users. And it’s not only the operator who benefits. Feature phone users, previously excluded from accessing social networks on their mobile phones, are now free to join in the fun and the transcoding and adaptation features of the SMG technology mean that they receive a superior user experience for any web, user-generated or multimedia content. In short, the social media opportunity is one that mobile operators can’t afford to ignore. They can now fill a key role in the value chain, enabling them to offer their subscribers innovative social media services, while capitalising on their own existing infrastructure.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Kieran Kilmartin, Group Marketing Manager at Portrait Software, argues that analytics and careful profiling and segmenting of the customer database can help operators drive down churn and increase ROI, by targeting the right people, and ignoring the wrong ones

With a uncertain economy affecting customer buying habits, and increased competition to boot, mobile operators are being forced to take a new look at their customer retention strategies. Companies are striving to trim costs wherever possible, and paying heightened attention to retaining their most valuable customers.
It was the father of the department store, John Wanamaker, who famously said: “I know half of my advertising is wasted, I just don’t know which half”. Nearly every marketer knows this quote, but Wanamaker would turn in his grave if he knew the truth - it’s worse, much worse.

Red flag
Not only is half the marketing wasted, there is a portion of customers that defect because of marketing – a promotional campaign can actually trigger customer churn. For these customers, a renewal reminder is the red flag to leave and a special retention offer opens the defection door. With retention-based direct marketing increasing by 34% globally (while overall direct marketing spending declines by 9%) there is a strong possibility these increasing efforts are counter-productive, eating away at positive return on marketing investment.
The good news is that today, we can predict exactly which half of direct marketing spend  is wasted, and most importantly, we can also predict which segments are likely to defect because of a campaign. It all starts with solid data and accurate measurement of the impact of a campaign using control groups - we call it uplift modeling. Add a focus on relevance and delivering customer value, and the results can be astounding.
By simultaneously modeling customer behaviour from treated and untreated segments (control groups) Portrait Uplift Optimizer is able to segment potential campaign respondents into four segments as follows:
Segment 1: Persuadables. The people who respond to a campaign in just the way you hope. They buy (or renew), but would not have done so, had they not received your marketing campaign.
Segment 2 & 3: Sure Things and Lost Causes. If you do not target Sure Things, they will buy (or renew) anyway. Lost Causes won’t buy (or renew) regardless of anything you might do. Including either segment in a campaign simply wastes budget.
Segment 4: Sleeping Dogs. People for whom the campaign triggers a negative response, because of annoyance, being reminded of alternatives or simply being given a chance to overcome inertia. Including them in your campaign not only wastes budget but negatively effects response and revenue.
Let’s now consider a couple of real-world examples.

Telenor
Following a retention mailing that increased churn from 9% to 10%, Telenor, the seventh largest mobile provider in the world, used uplift models to turn things around and reduce churn by 1.2%, gaining $8.8 million (£5.5 million) per year.
The uplift model found a ‘most savable’ sub-segment - just 30% of those previously targeted - who reacted favourably to the campaign and reduced churn across the entire segment from 9 to 7.%.
The combination of increased retention rates and lower marketing campaign costs translated into an eleven-fold increase in uplift campaign ROI, compared to previous programs

T-Mobile, Austria
Following the acquisition of tele.ring, T-Mobile Austria increased its customer base by 50%. In a saturated market, with voice price erosion, customer retention was paramount.
With the use of Portrait Customer Analytics, immediate analytics capabilities were available, including simple cross-tabs, quick predictive models and geographical analysis, allowing faster business decisions and more streamlined operations. 
In particular, a number of diverse predictive modeling applications could be used to determine retention optimization for contract subscribers, to help prevent inactivity for prepay subscribers, and to optimize the roll out of the network.
The solution also enabled the T-Mobile campaign management team to execute complex selections and therefore accurately target the right customers, with the right offer, at the right time and therefore become more effective. As a result, T-Mobile Austria has increased the effectiveness of its retention activities, achieving a 20% reduction in customer churn

Stressed economy
In a stressed economy, companies must protect, retain and grow customer bases, while spending less money. It’s a concept that might seem like an impossibility, but analytics and, in particular uplift modeling, are having a profound impact on the way marketers develop campaigns and on the budgets of marketing departments. But we still need to remember to let those sleeping dogs lie!

Smart Thinking

Jay Seaton, Chief Marketing Officer at Airwide Solutions, looks at how operators can use the unique assets at their disposal to deliver the Smartphone experience, even to those customers who don’t own a Smartphone

A recent report on the European Smartphone market from Pyramid Research predicted a 22% increase in Smartphone sales in 2009 compared with 2008. This is despite an overall decline of around 21% in total handset sales, fuelled both by the suffering economy and mobile saturation.
So what is driving this growth against the overall trend? The user experience that Smartphones enable, and the excitement created by the prolific development of the app store phenomenon.

Staggering numbers
The app store numbers are staggering: Apple recently announced 1.5 billion downloads from its AppStore, with subscribers downloading more than 5 million applications per day. BlackBerry, Nokia and LG, among others, also have their own proprietary solutions. All of this offers the potential for increased mobile data traffic, but it also highlights a threat to operators. Now that subscribers are increasingly turning to, and interacting with, other service providers, the established relationship that operators have built with their subscribers is gradually eroding. There is an increasing possibility that subscribers could become loyal to a service, rather than to the operator.
For the user, the experience is the domain of the device, the applications, the operating systems and the Internet. So the mobile network operator risks potentially being rendered irrelevant. Worse still for operators is the fact that they foot the expense, as data traffic capacity increases, with uploading and downloading of pictures, video and web content, messaging, chat and networked gameplay. They also typically incur the customer service expense of applications that don’t function correctly.

Data pipe
For years, the challenge for operators has been to avoid being just a data pipe; now time is running out and operators have to add value if they are to retain the subscriber relationships from which they have previously benefited. They need to regain control of the subscriber experience, and generate from it real revenue streams to serve as the next wave of growth, as margins on traditional services plateau and decline. To do this, mobile network operators must take the current app store phenomenon to the next level, by enriching applications with their unique capabilities, such as messaging, browsing, location, user profiling, presence information, security and charging, making them powerful, feature-rich and closely aligned with subscriber expectations. Without these moves, the mobile network operator risks ceding control and ownership of the content-driven Smartphone world - plus all the revenue that will come with it - to apps developers, device manufacturers and content providers.
This same principle can be applied to the feature phone - or non-Smartphone - market, which accounts for approximately 80% of the 4 billion global mobile users. The open source software applicable to Smartphones is ideal for app store development, and Smartphones have the capability to run on-board applications. But since the non-Smartphone majority of handsets doesn’t have similar capabilities, delivery of content and services must be undertaken via a channel that is appropriate for the device, be it SMS, MMS or IM. For delivery - downloaded or streamed - of high quality music and video to non-Smartphones, content can be optimized by the operator for the device and the subscriber plan, and format, compression level and delivery channel can be tailored appropriately. 

Network capabilities
Applications connecting to cloud resources could also be a successful method for alleviating potential non-Smartphone deficiencies in processing power, battery life, and data storage. The solution to this problem lies in investment in a framework that allows services to be introduced and enhanced across existing and new communication channels, using network capabilities such as location, authentication, device detection, transcoding and charging, to provide an enhanced user experience, while preserving and reusing the underlying infrastructure to avoid any disruption to revenue-generating existing services, and intelligently address a user’s device through the appropriate channel.
Operators, of course, remain the dominant force within the mobile ecosystem, and they can solidify that position by using their unique assets to better effect. Location information, presence information, security for the user - including protection from spam, spoof and fraud, parental controls, user profile and preference information - handset information, transcoding, content adaptation, application and service reporting, charging and billing, are all assets the operator can bring to the table and ultimately address a user’s device through the most appropriate channel, with personalized and sticky content and applications. 
Operators are in a unique position to enhance any application with their unique assets, improving the user experience for all subscribers, both those with Smartphones as well as the forgotten majority without, and make money in doing so.

Seeing is Believing

James Crawford, executive director of the Global Retail Executive Council (GREC), argues that mobile retail solutions are transforming the consumer shopping experience and the promise of mobile marketing

Say goodbye to your plastic retail loyalty card. Say goodbye to the mess of paper-based coupons that arrive with your daily newspaper and mail. Say goodbye even to paper money. It is all going into your mobile phone.
While brand marketers and mobile communications carriers wrestle over the business models and per-click pricing strategies around mobile marketing, an entirely new category of service has emerged that promises to reinvent the way consumers interact with products at the store level. Mobile marketing is turning into mobile shopping, and innovative technologists and application developers are conspiring to deliver experiences that are more appealing to shoppers… and a better return for marketers.

Customer service
According to one research report, shoppers make 70% of their buying decisions inside the store. Thus, retailers are looking for solutions that will distinguish their in-store experience from competitors, provide stronger customer service, and increase shopping-basket sizes. The mobile phone is the platform and enabler to achieve this.
One of the strongest lessons from the ecommerce revolution is that ‘push’ advertising - delivering intrusive brand messaging to consumers via network-based methodologies - is being replaced by ‘pull’ marketing. The customer is in control and wants access to information and services when and where he or she wants. And no one wants the spam they get in their email inbox to spill over into invasive texts on their phone. So retailers looking to engage shoppers need to offer mobile shopping services, not just mobile marketing.
Here at the Global Retail Executive Council, we have created ‘Mobile Retail Experience’. This is a series of demonstrations and business conferences, designed to showcase the myriad of mobile shopping and mobile retail solutions that are exploding into the market. The Mobile Retail Experience launches in 2009 at the CTIA Wireless IT show in October, and continues into five North American cities in 2010. Plans for a European Demo Tour are underway for the third and fourth quarters of 2010.

Serving shoppers
Properly targeted toward serving shoppers, mobile retailing allows consumers to save time and money with self-service options enhanced with instant product information, specials and rewards. There are literally dozens of technologies that enable these benefits.
Products such as JagTag and MobileTag utilize the camera function on mobile phones to read regular barcodes and even higher-form 2-dimensional barcodes, to immediately access product  information, coupons, a loyalty program, and more. To date, there are more than 25 different types of mobile tagging solutions in use in the US and Europe.
Companies such as SampleSaint and BCode replace the old fashioned ‘print and bring’ model of coupon distribution with easy delivery to the shopper’s mobile phone – something they’re already carrying with them into the store. Bcode, for example, delivers text message-based incentives and offers to consumers’ mobile phones that they then redeem at the bCODE in-store terminals. Consumers can receive and redeem coupons, and merchants get additional exposure to their promotional offers.
Samplesaint’s solution allows consumers to download coupons they want anytime, even while in the store. The coupon is redeemed by allowing the retailer to scan the coupon off the mobile phone screen; no coupons to print, mail and stuff into a pocket or purse. JagTag, Neomedia, MobileTag; these are three of the dozen or so suppliers that turn a mobile phone into a barcode scanner. They promise simple, one-click transactions that deliver quick and inexpensive value to consumers, as well as the brands.

Near Field Communications
Touchatag, a unit of the telecom firm, Alcatel-Lucent, uses Near Field Communications (NFC)  to power mobile phones to a new level of interactivity with physical products. Phones that are enabled with Touchatag’s NFC technology, either embedded in the operating system as with some Nokia models, or added to the phone as a plug-in, are able to read product and advertising information contactlessly.
Just how big is the market for mobile retail? Global estimates are hard to determine, since the category is so new. Some analysts believe that mobile coupons will increase by 30% during the next two years, and will exceed 200 million users globally by the year 2013.
According to another survey, brands expect mobile marketing to become far more effective than traditional direct mail, with 47% expecting between 5% and 15% of recipients to request more information or a sample, and 34% expecting between 5% and 20% of recipients to undertake a financial transaction after receiving a mobile marketing message.
It is this sea change in the way Point-of-Sale promotions (coupons, loyalty, value-added programs) are measured that is perhaps the most important driving force. Brand marketers that utilize paper-based coupons and loyalty rarely get a near-term glimpse of how their promotion performed. With couponing, there is no such thing as real-time advertising analytics, as there is in the online world. With mobile retail, however, comes a change in marketing metrics. With mobile retail, direct response performance can be measured quickly and with extreme detail, down to the individual store, and indeed, the individual.
Loyalty programs too will see improvement. Over the past decade, these have become one of the most powerful marketing tools across a variety of vertical markets. As evidence of their use, the average household is enrolled in over 10 loyalty programs. As the programs have proliferated, it has become more and more challenging for marketers to keep their customers engaged, and to maintain their program’s value. Mobile can help in this respect.
Mobile retail applications offer retailers of any size solutions that significantly boost operational efficiencies, loyalty and sales. By offering interactivity and immediacy, from communicating shelf talkers to multimedia end cap promotions, the business of in-store, point-of-sale advertising is about to undergo a transformation that will have to be seen to be believed.

How To Beat Churn

Mayur Pitamber, Product Management Strategist at Openwave Systems, argues that mobile analytics is the foundation for understanding subscriber behaviour and retaining customers

After years of talk about mobile data services, the day has finally arrived where demand is close to rivalling the hype. In the last two years, we’ve seen Smartphones move to the mainstream, and expect continued uptake, along with the development of other mobile devices such as netbooks and PC dongles. We have also seen a number of other non-traditional players entering the mobile Internet market and sparking competition, with each one fighting for customer loyalty.
As a result, mobile operators are facing less-than-committed customers who quickly switch providers for lower cost plans, attractive introductory offers, a better user experience, or the latest in services and devices. As subscriber losses increase, revenue decreases; while at the same time the costs of maintaining networks, infrastructure improvements, and new service deployment continue to rise.

Informed decisions
Mobile operators today must make informed business decisions to meet day-to-day marketplace challenges. Yet, too often, the most appropriate information available is either lacking, or it’s too complex and buried within multiple series of reports. In short, data is gathered but not analyzed; reported but not understood; or shared but not acted upon.
Mobile analytics tools aggregate subscriber data so that a 360-degree view can be built. This can help operators understand what motivates customers, and as a result, offer mobile data services that will be more targeted and therefore profitable. It also allows operators to track data network usage and, using current and historical reports, model and anticipate the impact of new services or a popular website and prevent bottlenecks. It also allows them to determine how best to manage network costs and increase network performance and equip decision-makers at every level with fact-based insight, so that they can take action and make better day-to-day business decisions.
Analytics tools tend to work in one of two ways: they either reside online and monitor how specific sites or applications are being used (out-of-network), or they can reside on the mobile phone and monitor all mobile Internet usage. By contrast, an in-network mobile analytics solution deployed at a central point in the mobile operator network captures all on-deck and off-deck mobile Internet traffic. This means that operators have a complete, holistic view of consumer surfing habits, rather than only seeing how users are interacting individually with a limited number of sites.
As out-of-network web analytics are usually web-based solutions deployed outside the mobile operator network, they are adequately suited for content publishers and website owners who are most concerned with user behaviour on a much more limited basis (their own properties or those adjacent sites in a given browsing session). The data provided by these solutions, however, is generally inadequate for mobile operators seeking a holistic view of their user segments, because they only capture tagged mobile Internet pages using JavaScript or cookies. Pages that are not tagged are not captured, so there is no clear picture of what users are doing.

The whole picture
By contrast, an in-network mobile analytics solution deployed at a central point in the mobile operator network captures all on-deck and off-deck mobile internet traffic, giving operators the whole picture of consumer surfing habits.
In order to make the most of these capabilities, operators need to identify business goals, such as targeting niche groups, reducing customer churn, or increasing subscriber retention. The maturity of the market in which the operator is competing can affect the goals for improving business performance. For example, in growing markets, the focus of operators is usually on mass customer acquisition, with a strong emphasis on pricing. In mature markets, the focus is typically on customer service, proactive outreach, loyalty programmes, and subsidised services.
As part of the analysis process, mobile operators need to determine how subscribers should be segmented, and what the ultimate goal is. They then need to develop measurement metrics and define what reports will be most impactful.
There are a number of reporting categories, such as Data Traffic, Devices, Destinations, Visitors and Applications. In each of these categories, various reports can be generated, e.g. device reports, which provide a breakdown of handsets by vendor and model and are useful when determining the most popular handsets that subscribers are using to access the Internet. There are also subscriber-based reports, which group subscribers into bands, based on how long they have been browsing the mobile web. Time-based reports can be used to track the performance of a particular campaign over a period of time, while more advanced reports, such as those measuring the data volumes, help in determining the amount of data be generated on networks, and can be useful in capacity forecasting and planning.
Operators can use these reports to develop a holistic picture of customer behaviour, and in doing so, target customers with relevant services, which is crucial for developing a long term relationship with their subscriber base, increasing revenue and managing long term investments in their network.

The Analytic Opportunity

Tajinder Jagdev, Head of the Communications, Media and Entertainment Practice at SAS UK, argues that by identifying and understanding detailed usage patterns, operators can produce healthy roaming margins, despite EU legislation

On 1 July 2009, EU legislation came into force to lower roaming charges for mobile phones. The new ruling means that, for the first time, operators will have to cap prices on calls, texts and Internet usage across Europe. The maximum charge for a text message now stands at 11 Euro cents (£0.09), 43 Euro cents a minute for a call, and €1 for transferring 1MB of data. Two months ahead of this legislation, however, Vodafone announced that it would abolish roaming charges across 35 European countries during the summer period. This means that people travelling abroad until the end of August could make and receive calls at the same cost as they would back home – and without the 75p connection charge.

Healthy margins
Despite dropping the connection charges and standardising costs – which are now as much as 60% lower in some cases - phone operators like Vodafone can still produce healthy margins in countries where they have roaming agreements, or an established presence.
Around 6 million Vodafone handsets left the UK last summer, but because of expensive connection and call charges, each of those handsets only made around two calls while abroad, resulting in a low total charge of around £1.50 - £2.00. In the majority of cases, this is significantly less than the customer would have spent using their mobile at home. By introducing more appealing call charges, network operators can encourage customers to take their phones abroad and use them just as they would at home, thus potentially boosting call rates and positively impacting their bottom line. While it is clear that any increased usage abroad will drive up revenues, the real question is – at what cost? 
The historic margins around roaming services have resulted in the approximate settling of inter-carrier revenues between operators, where the details, specifically financial charges, are rarely analysed. With call charges now lower, and margins under more pressure, how can operators be sure that the charges other carriers are claiming from them are in fact accurate – especially in a world where the complexity of services offered is forever increasing? Suddenly the analysis and understanding of this detail could well be worth millions of pounds of extra revenue.

Understanding usage patterns
Business analytics tools can be used by the network operator to delve into this vast amount of data to create a Profit and Loss account for each subscriber, and provide the understanding needed to seek out better margins. Ultimately, any operator will require accurate information to validate current charges or prove inaccuracies, so that any issues can be brought to mediation, or to the attention of regulators, and financial settlements agreed.
Our customers have already benefited from using Business analytics to settle disputes around the costs of leased lines and circuits in the network. One customer enjoyed a £12 million saving on its quarterly invoice from one carrier.
By taking its customers’ usage patterns into consideration, Vodafone has, for the first time, turned the old, unpopular model on its head and abolished all connection charges. Gone are the days of coming home from a holiday abroad to a huge phone bill. This is great for holiday-makers, who are now more likely to text, call and use the Internet during a two-week holiday in Spain as they would if they were at home – ultimately resulting in increased revenue for operators. The impact on the overall margin for this traffic, however, remains to be seen. What we can be confident of, is that the use of Business Analytics can help operators delve into the detail and deliver the assurance that any claim from carriers for roaming revenue is exactly what it should be. 

Predictive analysis
Since the promotion was launched at the beginning of June, Vodafone has announced that around 2.5 million people have so far taken advantage of its ‘Passport’ offering. For the first time, holiday-makers have been able to make calls at exactly the same price as if they were at home, while many Pay Monthly users have benefitted from using their inclusive minutes for no extra charge.
As the holiday season comes to an end, however, where will mobile operators go from here? Operators will soon have the first set of data since the introduction of lowered roaming charges, while Vodafone will be looking at the results of its charge-free summer promotion. By using business analytics tools, these operators, for the first time, will be able to mine this data to identify challenges to be resolved, and highlight offerings and techniques that resonate with customers. Even more importantly, they can use this data to predict revenue generation from tailoring their services and building them into future promotions, such as seasonal and demographic-specific offerings, and even year-round services. This knowledge is key to forecasting customers’ demands and revenue streams. The customer benefits, and so does the bottom line.

Back to Basics

Sometimes it’s easy to get so caught up in the excitement of a new campaign that you forget some of the groundrules. Here, Phil Robinson, Front-end Developer at mobile messaging firm Piri, runs through some essential mobile marketing Dos and Don’ts

Mobile marketing is a fairly new and high impact approach to communicating with an existing or potential audience. With that in mind we thought it might be helpful to summarise some of the essential things you should, and should not, do in your mobile marketing campaigns…

DO: Think about your target audience demographic
There is nothing more annoying than receiving a text message, email or letter that is completely irrelevant, and in some cases inappropriate. Know your audience and gather information from people who are likely to appreciate your marketing messages.

DON'T: Obtain a database of random mobile numbers
Such sources won't check that these users are relevant or that the mobile phones are still active. Further, these users may well have been heavily spammed by other database subscribers.

DO: Use your messages to link to other channels
These might include WAP or websites, vouchers to push people to POS (Point Of Sale), WAP payment sites and telephone booking lines.

DON'T: Broadcast to numbers which you don't have an opt-in from
If you don't have a Mobile Originating message or proof of terms and conditions from other data collection sources, steer clear of sending promotional messages to these numbers.

DO: Think about how to measure the response
Using unique codes and adding a call to action at the end of broadcasts for example.

DON'T: Don't lose sight of the value of mobile numbers.
Even running a free-to-enter campaign can be immensely valuable in terms of number collection. Each number collected can be profiled and used in telemarketing exercises to cross-sell.

DO: Send relevant offers
You will get the best conversion from well targeted lists.

DON'T: Send irrelevant offers
This is the quickest way to lose numbers from your existing customer database.

DO: Make it clear how to opt out of future broadcasts
All broadcasts should make it clear to customers how to opt out from future marketing messages. This involves detailing the Shortcode to which to send the STOP command.

DONT: Just trust industry gurus – do your own research
Build your own unique strategies and messages. The more personable and innovative your campaigns, the more your customers will show interest.

DO: Make your terms and conditions, including pricing for all campaigns, clear
Make sure at some point during your campaign that the consumer agrees to the term,  and that you publish prices clearly. Hidden charges and small print will cause customers to opt out.

DON'T: Market to minors without parents' permission
This could cause lots of potential issue. Make sure you know your audience and avoid offending your existing customers.

DO: Stay alert and be ready to react
Regularly review your customers, competitors and marketing news and alter your strategy to increase the value of your campaigns.

DON'T: Become complacent at the first sign of success
If something works, don't rely on it; try new things as well and make sure you don't get labelled as a spammer.

If you are new to mobile marketing we highly recommend reading the official PhonepayPlus Code of Practice before going any further. Good luck and happy hunting.

An End to Twiddling

Mformation Vice President Matt Bancroft argues the case for improved usability on Smartphones and other mobile devices

In the mobile world, we often judge the worth of a new device by whether or not it includes the latest new functions, or by how cool and sophisticated the user interface is. We often lose sight of whether or not these new capabilities are actually usable. The fact is that usability is more than a measure of rich functionality or a beautiful user interface. No matter how sophisticated or attractive, if something doesn’t work well - especially at first touch or first use - it will not rate as highly usable. And even if it is the newest thing on the market, if it is not usable, it will (eventually) be considered not worth having.

Usability first
Most consumer electronics and appliance manufacturers have learned this lesson the hard way, with the result that they now design their products with usability in mind. Today, the most popular cars, TVs, DVD/DVR devices, digital cameras, music players and even household appliances, are designed so that they work out of the box with minimal effort and without requiring elaborate setup. In contrast, most Smartphones have a huge array of functionality and services, as well as rich and attractive user interfaces, but they have not, historically, been designed with usability in mind.
For example, setting up a service like email to work on most of the currently available smart mobile devices can be frustratingly complex. The device itself may seem to be highly usable, but if the ability to send and receive email is one of the key selling points for the device, and the email application is complex to set up and use, that will negatively affect the perception of the overall usability of that device, regardless of what other bells and whistles that device might have.

The twiddling factor
Because of the above, measuring and improving usability has become increasingly important to the launch of new mobile devices and services. One good metric that can help us determine the usability of a new device or service is the ‘twiddling factor’. This is the number of steps that need to be taken, or settings that need to be manually set and reset, in order to use a particular service or capability. In a world where the number of available mobile services is growing exponentially, delivering those services has become an increasingly complex proposition. For a single service to work on a particular device, not only does the device need to be set up properly for that service, but a number of interconnected entities - from the application on the device,  to the network,  to any number of interconnected remote services used by the application - all need to work together as well. This is a complex task, and a significant amount of behind-the-scenes functionality is needed to reduce the amount of twiddling required during the lifecycle of that service. The aim of any well-designed mobile device management system should be to reduce this twiddling factor for the end user to a bare minimum - as close to zero as possible.     

High usability = low twiddling factor
Overall usability embraces many factors. The richest customer experience (and the highest degree of usability) for any service comes, however,  when that service can be used with little or no twiddling. Services that require a great deal of twiddling, either during setup or use, can never really be considered highly usable, regardless of their other attributes. To achieve a high degree of usability for new services in a connected world, the entire ecosystem needs to be designed for manageability - from the devices and services themselves, to the management systems supporting them. Support for usability capabilities such as plug-and-play, discovery, auto-configure, auto-repair and the like cannot just be features of individual devices, but rather, must become features of the entire mobile ecosystem.

Less twiddling = improved customer attitudes
Mformation recently undertook research in both the UK and the US to assess consumer attitudes about setting up their mobile phones and services. 4,000 interviews were completed for the survey, split equally between the two countries. The strength of user feeling was overwhelming. 61% of the mobile users interviewed said that phone setup is as frustrating as changing a bank account. Complexity is preventing uptake and usage of mobile applications and services. Basic services such as email (46%), Internet browsing (40%), Instant Messaging (30%) and picture messaging (29%) were among the top applications and services that people indicated don’t always work when they first switch on their phone. And 61% indicated that they have stopped using certain mobile applications because they cannot solve problems with them.
The problem is not only affecting uptake of new mobile applications and services, but also, sales of new devices. 45% of the people interviewed indicated that complex setup issues are preventing them from upgrading to new, more sophisticated mobile phones. And 65% of respondents agreed that mobile operators are losing out, as people will not buy a new phone because of the time it takes to set up.
Customer attitudes could change swiftly, however, if setup becomes easier. 95% of consumers surveyed indicated that they would be more likely to try new mobile services if setup of these services was easier. And 88% agreed that they would use mobile services more if setup was less painful. Up and running straight out-of-the-box’ means exactly that, and our research shows that improving this aspect of the mobile phone buying experience will help to improve the fortunes of many players in our industry. The message from consumers is clear - phone setup is simply too complex. We need to reduce the twiddling factor.

Mobile Device Management
Mobile Device Management (MDM) technologies are already starting to meet these challenges. MDM systems help reduce the twiddling factor for mobile services and devices by enabling (hands-free) device and service activation, configuration and provisioning actions, with little or no input required from the end users, thus ensuring an optimal user experience without any twiddling at all.
As the devices, applications and services increase in complexity, MDM technologies work behind the scenes to ensure that this complexity is not exposed to the end users. And by providing an end-to-end view of the real state of services and the actual experience of the user, MDM technologies are providing all of the stakeholders with valuable insight into the overall usability of their offerings, ensuring usability improvements (and a reduced twiddling factor) with every new release. In the end, the users should only be exposed to the operations offered by a mobile service or application and nothing else - no setup, no configuration, no debugging, no repairing…and definitely no twiddling.

Reasons to be Fearful

As the summer holidays draw to a close, David Sharpley, Senior Vice President at Bridgewater Systems, offers a timely guide to the four negative consequences of mobile bill shock for operators, and considers how to prevent them

We’re probably all familiar with at least a few high profile cases of bill shock - the phenomenon that describes how customers feel when they’re landed with a higher-than-expected bill. But beyond the eye-catching headlines, bill shock has profound effects on the mobile business. Smart operators have recognised the wide range of negative impacts bill shock can have on both the customer and commercial experience, which is why they’re taking steps to eliminate it today.

Bill shock is spreading
The proliferation of Smartphones, increasing mobility, and a wider range of mobile data services, means the mobile market is ripe for an increase in bill shock. This is largely being driven by the complexity of mobile tariffs, combined with a lack of customer understanding about the consequences of these tariffs. At the heart of the matter is the opaqueness of mobile tariffing: customers simply do not understand how much some data services - particularly when roaming - will cost. When they’re landed with a huge bill several weeks later, they’re shocked and angry in equal measure.
Nor is this phenomenon solely a feature of the postpaid market: the equivalent for prepaid customers is having their credit disappear far faster than anticipated. While prepaid customers may not suffer a huge bill at the end of the month, they may experience substantial inconvenience when they discover they have no credit left, and they may subsequently become wary of using data services.
Bill shock has four main negative consequences for operators, and represents a unique threat to both the customer relationship and the mobile operator’s business, at a time when operators need, more than ever, to retain subscribers and maintain revenues. Fortunately, there is a straightforward way of addressing these consequences and turning a negative into a positive.

Consequence No.1: shocking publicity
Many mobile markets are competitive, and mobile operators spend considerable sums trying to attract and retain customers. The last thing they need is negative headlines that associate their carefully crafted branding with extreme cases of bill shock.
Two examples of bill shock from the UK which are now internationally infamous concern British holiday-maker Iayn Dobsyn, and Ian Simpson from Darlington. Iayn Dobsyn went on holiday to Portugal and decided to download his favourite TV show. The consequence was a bill for £31,500. Ian Simpson, meanwhile, used his mobile as a modem for his laptop, thinking that his unlimited data plan would cover it. It didn’t, and the result was a bill for £27,322.
The fall out of such cases is that the mobile operators involved have now become associated with outrageous charges and confusing processes. The question in most people’s minds is not ‘How could he spend so much?’ but rather, ‘Why didn’t the mobile operator tell him what he was spending before it got this bad?’ The fact that in virtually all cases it’s the customer’s, rather than the operator’s fault, is irrelevant. In the eyes of the public, responsibility is placed firmly on the operator for not warning the customer about the charges, rather than on the customer for not understanding them.

Consequence No.2: increased costs
Bill shock inevitably leads to a practice that has been termed ‘bill forgiveness’. This is where the mobile operator reduces the subscriber’s bill to avoid further bad publicity and costly legal action, and also because the customer usually can’t afford to pay. Iayn Dobsyn, for example, saw his bill reduced from £31,500 to just £229.
The consequences of reducing or cancelling charges retrospectively, however, are that costs rise for mobile operators themselves, who may be out of pocket due to interconnect and roaming charges they still have to pay to partners. What’s more, dealing with the customer’s complaint, and coming to a compromise with them, further drives up costs. From a revenue assurance perspective, as well as a customer care perspective, mobile forgiveness is a very poor substitute for getting it right first time.

Consequence No.3: increased regulation
Widespread customer dissatisfaction, added to a large number of high-profile cases of bill shock while roaming, has resulted in the EU legislating for limits on the charges mobile operators can make for roaming services. This same legislation also makes it a legal requirement for operators to enable customers to preset usage limits and be alerted when thresholds are reached. The deadline for compliance is March 2010, leaving very little time for operators to implement the technology and processes needed to comply. There is also a possibility that similar regulation will be applied in other parts of the world, if it is successful in Europe. 

Consequence No.4: inhibited demand
Possibly the worst consequence of bill shock is that it inhibits the take up of next-generation services - the very services that operators were hoping would compensate for falling voice revenues. Customers who are unclear about service charges, or worried about running up large bills, often control their expenditure by simply not using some services. The most valuable customers of all - enterprises with many thousands of lines -  control expenditure by imposing blanket bans on certain data services. This is far from ideal for both the mobile operator and the enterprise, as it may very well affect the enterprise’s productivity, as well as the mobile operator’s revenues. However, this is often the only means the enterprise has to ensure that they don’t blow their budgets.
Once a customer starts to avoid using a service because it’s perceived as too expensive, this is a hard mindset to break, and it results in lower demand for more profitable data services. Revenues and profitability are both affected, resulting in negative commercial consequences, such as a depressed share price, or the undermining of the business case for investment in new technology.

The solution
Bill shock is very rarely a failure of the billing technology. Far more commonly, it’s the result of poor communication and understanding of tariffs and usage. Policy control technology directly addresses this problem by putting customers back in control of their spending and usage. Customers and operators can now set personalised controls. Customers can be alerted when key thresholds are reached, and can gain a far better understanding of their usage. Policy control technology not only enables mobile operators to comply with EU roaming legislation and avoid the dreaded mobile bill shock, it also goes beyond this to become a valuable service in itself.
Customers value the transparency and control provided by the technology, and are able to benefit from added features, such as proactive, personalised marketing and offers. Now, a customer roaming in Portugal can receive special offers such as day roaming passes or a personalised rate. They might receive useful information about their locality or recommended services (such as the top five restaurants to visit in the area, along with a discount voucher).
Policy control improves the relationship between valuable enterprise customers and their mobile operator. When policy control technology is deployed, businesses are more likely to trial and use a greater variety of services, as they understand the costs involved, and are in control of them. Now the IT department is able to set its own policies and monitor its own usage - enterprises no longer have to call their mobile operator. This creates a win-win situation, as it delivers greater control to the enterprise, but also reduces the cost of customer service for the mobile operator.
So if you’d like to avoid the embarrassment and negative commercial effects of bill shock, comply with EU roaming legislation, explore new ways of differentiating your customer experience, or tap into valuable incremental revenue streams, then maybe you should find out more about how smart policy control can help you.

Protect and Prosper

Hugh McCartney, CEO at Cloudmark, investigates how consumers’ security concerns may be hampering their uptake of mobile operators’ value added services

Mobile data services deliver additional revenues for mobile operators worldwide, and as non-voice related revenues become an increasingly integral part of operators’ strategies, they must work to ensure that these revenues are protected and future proof. According to recent research carried out among consumers by Cloudmark, nearly two thirds can’t manage a week without their mobile phone. But while this reliance on mobile phones bodes well for the industry, the adoption of mobile services such as mobile banking, mobile commerce and mobile marketing is by no means assured.

Trusted information
Consumers will only adopt these services only if they trust the information that they receive on their mobile device. In the advertising market, for example, the mobile device is seen by some as the most effective medium ever developed. The ubiquitous nature of mobile phones, which are always with us and normally always turned on, offers the promise of being able to send targeted advertisements based on behavioural preferences, usage patterns and location, wherever a consumer is and at any time of day. Mobile advertising will only fulfil its potential, however, if consumers trust the information they receive through what they perceive as a very personal channel of communication. If mobile spam and malicious attacks increase, consumers’ confidence in the security of their mobile phone will diminish, thereby jeopardising mobile operators’ future revenue streams.
Inevitably however, as SMS usage has exploded alongside increased use of the mobile Internet and diverse mobile applications, mobile users find themselves faced with new security threats on their mobile device. In Asia, 20-50% of all SMS traffic is currently unwanted spam, and while figures are lower in the UK and Europe they are still significant.
Recent research Cloudmark carried out among consumers found that 66% have received unwanted or unsolicited messages (spam) on their mobile phone, and while a majority of spam messages could simply be seen as a nuisance (e.g. SMS marketing), an alarming 29% had received malicious spam such as phishing messages, fraud messages or messages containing inappropriate content.
The research shows that these mobile threats are not only intrusive and annoying, they are felt to put consumers at risk of fraud and identity theft, and are subsequently eroding their confidence in the security of their mobile phone and the services they access on it. Half the consumers surveyed don’t think the information they send on their phone is secure, while more than two thirds said they wouldn’t use value-added services such as mobile banking and 37% wouldn’t shop online due to mobile security concerns. In addition, it is clear that the consequence of letting spam proliferate can be hugely damaging to brands’ reputations, as well as contributing to customer churn and a rise in customer complaint calls. The increase in spam, in particular, is also putting pressure on operators’ networks, and negatively impacting customers’ quality of service.

Future growth
These combined factors are threatening the future growth of operators’ revenue from mobile data services, and just as email spam has impacted the success of online marketing, mobile campaigns will also lose out unless operators form an effective security strategy to protect their networks. The mobile industry needs to take notice of the threat that mobile messaging abuse and fraud poses to both consumers and operator revenues. Only by investing in the necessary technology to safeguard operator networks will customers feel confident using their mobile phones, and take full advantage of additional revenue-generating services.

The Channel Balancing Act

Darren Ponsford, Strategy and Planning Director at Blueview Group, argues that in today's world, offering consumers channel choice, and then learning which channels they prefer for which activities, is vital

We inhabit a world in which media is fragmenting into a bewildering variety of choices. Companies are faced with an increasing range of channels through which they can communicate. At the same time, there is an increasing expectation among consumers that they should have choice when it comes to which direct communication channel is used, whether it is email, phone, mail, web or SMS – the list is ever evolving.
What’s more, consumers are showing an increasing tendency to shop around or switch brands. Digital, in particular, has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for consumers, offering easily-accessible content, along with better price transparency and many more alternative offerings. Not only is it a growing headache for marketers to keep their customers, but it is becoming more challenging for them to then increase the amount of profitable business each customer does with a company.

Lines of communication
With consumers having more options than ever before, it is essential that marketers establish lines of communication with customers and prospects through multiple channels. This becomes especially important if brands want to develop their own loyalty schemes, engage customers with promotions, and gather customer data for better targeting and insights.
Simply stating the need to offer multiple channels to the consumer, however, understates the complexity of the task. Each consumer has a different set of preferences about how they would like to interact with the companies they buy from.
Different media have different penetration levels. For example, mobile phone penetration is now 125% (many people have more than one phone) but not everyone is responsive to outbound campaigns through this channel. The Mobile Marketing Association’s latest annual mobile attitude and usage study found that one in four US and western European mobile users have expressed an interest in mobile marketing, while a Nielsen Mobile report found that nearly a quarter of US subscribers said they had viewed a mobile advert in the last 30 days, and 51% of them had responded.
Clearly, these are the people who need to be given the option of SMS-based customer communications. But the other three-quarters of subscribers who have expressed no interest in the channel will feel alienated if it is the only option available to them.
The problem with targeting tech-savvy, highly-connected consumers (via web and SMS for example) is actually making contact in the first place – without permission from the targeted consumer, unsolicited email and SMS marketing is banned by the EU Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications. Marketers, however, are now much more aware of how mobile marketing and other digital channels, such as the web (personalised URLs, for example) and email, fit in with the traditional marketing mix. Anecdotal evidence from practitioners’ case studies, along with research, shows that very effective campaigns are being conducted using, ironically, targeted direct mail to drive communication over digital channels.

Channel choice
Offering consumers channel choice does more than provide a platform for companies to speak with their customers – it helps gain their business in the first place, and then ensure their ongoing loyalty. This finding comes through loud and clear in a survey of 2,000 UK consumers commissioned by Blueview. If a UK company does not offer communication choice, then potential buyers are much less likely to purchase its products, and existing customers are much more likely to switch to a competitor.
The survey showed that, when considering buying from companies they have never bought from before, 66% of UK consumers said they would be extremely unlikely to buy from a company that does not offer them their preferred channel of communication. And 61% said that if a brand they currently use failed to offer them choice of channel, they would look for a competitor that does.
In other words, at the most basic level, marketers need to make multiple communications options available, and find out what those favoured channels are across their customer base.
And if customers and prospects are to be offered channel choice, then communication activity for each medium also needs to deliver the all-important high return on investment. Specifically, the messages, promotions, offers, events and incentives delivered through those channels need to be targeted, tailored and absolutely relevant to the recipient. This may involve anything from a customer birthday greeting with an offer, to a live event the consumer may be interested in, to a personalised URL with targeted information or a specific promotion. Each communication or contact should include an opportunity for the company to capture data and further refine targeting and relevance for the consumer.

Data-driven communication
Multi-channel, targeted communication needs to be data-driven. Tracking which content drives the customer towards a purchase and which doesn’t engage them provides valuable long-term insight into likes and dislikes, as well as other factors like response times and redemption of offers.
The time has passed when brands could largely favour a single communication channel for dialogue with their customers. Smart marketers are now concentrating on achieving the optimal channel balance for their customer base. Capturing customer – and prospect – communications preferences is therefore a fundamental first step for marketers, as is intelligent analysis of that information and related data, with the aim of boosting customer revenue and profitability.

Welcome to The Experience Era

Keith Higgins, VP, Marketing at Aricent, argues that in today’s ultra-competitive world, user experience is key

Wireless customers’ expectations are growing exponentially. More bars and unlimited bandwidth have become table stakes for carriers, and subscribers are now choosing their service providers based on their overall user experience. Similarly, voice and data services are being eclipsed by application stores and cloud-based services. The winners in this new marketplace will be the service providers who shift their understanding of the user experience beyond just the mobile phone and user interface (UI). These companies understand that the most competitive user experiences will be created through a harmonisation of a multitude of wired devices, with a variety of wireless broadband access alternatives and a wide range of cloud services.  

More devices = more complexity
At the tip of the iceberg, and among the most visible experiences to the user, is the device itself. Responsible for enabling high performance rich-media interactions, the device experience involves many of the user’s senses, including the visual, tactile and aural. The device is also the workhorse of the user experience, interoperating with the rest of the communications ecosystem to deliver a compelling, branded application – the ultimate window to the experience soul. From the rise of app stores to the constant development of new functionality such as HD video on the device itself, the handset and the high value real estate that is the UI has been the focus of incessant innovation, as vendors search for the edge that will differentiate them. 
Handheld and portable devices are an extremely complex integration of radio frequency, baseband, protocol multimedia, graphics, and HID hardware and software engines, together with the mobile platform OS, including application middleware libraries and applications. Couple this with physical constraints such as computing power, memory and battery life, and it becomes obvious that implementing a high performance user experience in such a complex environment requires a deep understanding of the device environment and the interplay between all these elements.
Despite this complexity, however, the market opportunity is massive. As the world’s leading mobile operators plan to also announce a myriad of new connected devices, ranging from electronic book readers such as Amazon’s Kindle, to portable navigation devices that provide motorists with real time traffic information, the market for connecting new types of devices is forecast to be $93 billion (£55 billion) by 2013. 
Users are married to their mobile devices and wired consumer electronics, and select them based upon capabilities and traits which in some way reflect their own personalities and desires. However, even a perfect device implementation will leave a subscriber unsatisfied without other key elements of the user experience, including high-speed wireless access and a world of rich, cloud-based applications.

New generation
Mobile network operators are now enabling a new generation of Internet applications by providing service developers with a single point of access to their networks and global subscriber base. The intent is that content and service provides can create a single version of applications to reach tens of millions of subscriber – regardless of their device type – and also leverage mobile network operators’ existing billing systems. This also provides content and service providers, such as media or game makers, with an efficient payment system for mobile subscribers.  These same developers can also benefit from mobile operators’ advanced network intelligence, such as information about a subscribers location, preferences, and more, enabling them to further tailor their cloud-based services.
This significant improvement in the mobile Internet experience is made possible through the establishment of network Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).  These APIs enable service developers to very simply connect in a centralized, highly controlled fashion, to mobile operators’ networks. Cloud-based content and service providers get efficient connectivity between their applications and the worldwide subscriber base of the mobile operators. 
Mobile network operators benefit from offering their subscriber base a richer set of content and applications, and further, through a revenue-share arrangement, participate in sales growth from their content ecosystem partners. Third-party service developers get instant access to tens of millions of subscribers worldwide, improved time to market for new products and services, and an efficient payment system. Mobile subscribers get a wide range of new applications and services, without any additional payment complexity, a unified user interface, and consistent access methods and performance characteristics in their service area.

Fundamental shift
Mobile operators are experiencing a fundamental shift in the need for new levels of system integration, the complexities of which are unprecedented. New devices, networks, services, and the need for holistic engineering around delivering an innovative subscriber experience, have dramatically changed how service providers go to market and grow subscriber bases. Mobile voice and data providers now compete on the user experience as opposed to the cost, coverage and capacity checklists which attracted the modest loyalty of mobile subscribers past. Now network operators are opening network APIs to cloud services, betting on the stickyness of Internet-based applications and features. And, as the numbers and types of connected devices explode exponentially, the need to roll out new and improved wireless access capability is paramount.
These challenges present a specific need for service providers to identify a complementary capability to traditional outsourcing and consulting. Today, strategic suppliers are needed, who can address the need for a highly complex new carrier system integration capability which provides a unique combination of innovation and commercialisation skills and can tailor services specifically designed for harmonising devices, networks, cloud services and OSS/BSS into differentiated user experiences.  Unlike historical consulting, this effort represents a multi-phase engagement process, from discovery to support and requires an advanced engagement model and delivery processes.
Delivering this experience requires a holistic approach to engineer all the moving parts into a single, innovative subscriber experience – from the device to the network to cloud services. Developing the ultimate user experience requires an integrated innovation and implementation process to eliminate inefficiencies, creating a fined-tuned platform for highly differentiated services and user experiences.
The next wave of innovative user experiences will come from service providers who realise the power of harmonising all of their available assets into a single, highly differentiated user experience. And they will be the winners in this bold new world.

Editor's Note: This is a revised version of the article originally submitted, at the author's request

Mobile Advertising's Best-kept Secret

Jeremy Copp, CEO of Rapid Mobile Media, argues the case for vanilla-flavoured SMS as a prime mobile advertising medium

The mobile advertising market is growing in size at a prodigious rate, but in absolute terms, is still tiny in value compared to other media such as print, broadcast and online. There is a perception within the advertising industry that the mobile space is a difficult one to address, with limited inventory and reach, compromised display banner ad formats, and a lack of metrics to provide proof of a return on investment.
To a certain extent, these criticisms are valid, with some factions of the mobile marketing industry having something of a blinkered ‘WAP banner ad’ mentality. But there are alternative formats that address many of the current needs of the advertising world: chief amongst these has been known to users, providers and advertisers alike for decades – the SMS text message.
By injecting targeted adverts into existing SMS service messages (or indeed using the whole SMS for a marketing message) and, crucially, providing an interaction mechanism that is measurable on a per-advert, per-user level, SMS advertising addresses the key needs of advertisers and marketers, namely:

• High volumes of inventory – there are billions of service SMSs sent globally each day.
• Reach – the ability to receive and interact with SMS is ubiquitous: every mobile phone has this ability and hence all users can be reached with campaigns.
• Targeted – such a personal medium as the mobile phone allows for highly contextualised advert delivery based on a wide range of parameters, including the content of the service message, location, time of day and other user information.
• Measurable – the ability to determine exactly how many individual users click to interact with the advert (either click-to-call or click-to-mobile site) provides not only a measurable ROI for the campaign, but the opportunity to inform future ad delivery on an individual basis.

Well-known concept
SMS is a well-known and easily understood concept that means it is easier to sell the mobile advertising proposition to brands. As a permission-based service, it offers the opportunity to deliver campaigns within the unused space in an existing service – for example football result, horoscope or directory enquiries services – or as the entire message for direct marketing campaigns (a retail loyalty programme for example). The highly categorised and personal nature of the medium drives up value for all participants. The advertiser is able to directly target the desired audience, with no waste of inventory or campaign spend; the consumer receives personally relevant advertising and is therefore more likely to recall and/or interact with the campaign; and the publisher or service provider is able to further monetise the service, potentially to the extent of covering the SMS message delivery costs.
The preconception of SMS advertising is of mobile spam: sending the same message to (an often unqualified) list of mobile numbers. True SMS advertising, and where the most value lies for all involved, is in delivering the most appropriate contextualised advert for a (known) user at a given time, based upon as wide a range of parameters as possible, and providing measurement of interaction rates for the campaigns. In this scenario, SMS represents premium advertising inventory, achieving effective CPM rates in excess of £100 – many times that of other mobile display advertising formats – either on a straightforward volume or a cost-per-click basis.

Winning combination
The winning combination of personalised delivery and measurement of individual consumer interaction with adverts offers the prospect of extending the advertiser’s engagement with the consumer through the cycle of attracting, engaging and retaining them as a customer. By linking individual consumer’s responses with customer service or CRM systems, a richer picture of their preferences can be built to drive increased relevance of future adverts and improve loyalty. The direct interaction mechanism offered by a ‘click-to-action’ mechanic in an SMS offers an easy to use customer acquisition method – a consumer can be connected directly to an existing call centre or further product information, without being required to remember or re-enter any details.
The truth is that a powerful mobile advertising format offering ubiquitious, personal and highly contextualised delivery in high volumes has been available to the industry all along: the SMS text message. However, it requires ad serving technology capable of both selecting the most appropriate advert for each consumer at a given time based upon a complex set of parameters, and measuring each of those user’s interactions with each advert in order to be able to extract maximum value from the medium for all participants in the value chain.

Security Service

Jay Seaton, Chief Marketing Officer at mobile messaging company, Airwide Solutions, argues that operators are best positioned to protect their subscribers against mobile phone hacks and attacks 

Later today at the Black Hat Cybersecurity Conference in Las Vegas, researchers will demonstrate how they can potentially, in their own words, “hijack every iPhone in the World” and hack virtually any other Smartphone, using falsified SMS and MMS messages. How to safeguard against such attacks should be a topic for serious debate. At Airwide, we believe the most effective solutions to combat attacks of this nature are those deployed by mobile operators.
The data being carried by Smartphones is increasingly making them more valuable than many computers, and this is putting Smartphones hugely at risk to security threats. SMS and MMS messages are the easiest way for hackers to reach and infiltrate a device, and it falls to operators to employ mobile security solutions to protect their customers from this danger.
Many people assume that the PC security model of software downloads and firewalls is the answer. With the variety of handsets available, however, this isn’t an effective option on its own. Adding to the complexity is the range of communication methods that can be carried out on a Smartphone, such as email, SMS, MMS, web and WAP access. Along with these comes a whole host of mobile security threats, such as mobile spam, viruses and phishing.
Handset-based solutions are also limited, as they only protect a tiny number of mobile users. Also, with mobile devices constantly being upgraded and replaced with higher specification devices, security software which is added is often quickly outdated.

Integrated approach
The most effective answer lies with an integrated approach, including education to avoid subscribers opening potentially dangerous messages, as well as handset-based solutions and those deployed at a network level. Of all these approaches, however, the most successful single method is the solutions deployed across the network, as they are both more controllable and easily upgraded. Currently, many network operators voluntarily police potential fraudsters, but as messaging services continue to grow and become more complex, networks need a comprehensive range of features, such as anti-spam and virus filtering software, EIR (Equipment Identity Register) systems and blacklisting, anti-spoofing, and anti-flooding technology. Using a variety of mobile security technologies, including anti-spam, anti-spoof and anti-flooding, along with next-generation gateways, operators can detect abnormal patterns in messaging traffic, confirm legitimate senders, filter content and block suspicious messages. 
With appropriate security measures in place, mobile operators can protect their subscribers and their networks from potentially damaging security risks. As the rise of applications and services continues, they can also protect their revenues without fear of jeopardising them through malicious attacks. Once customers feel assured they will not receive a barrage of potentially dangerous unwanted messages for downloading an application, they will feel more confident about downloading content and services in the future.

Standard Issue

To make WiMAX a success, standards-based device management is key, argues Lori Sylvia, EVP Marketing at Red Bend Software

The increasing demand for mobile-enabled laptops, PC cards, modems and other wireless end user devices is helping to fuel WiMAX growth globally. A study from the WiMAX Forum forecasts that about 70% of the forecasted WiMAX users by 2012 will use mobile and portable WiMAX devices to access broadband Internet services.
Yet the potential for growth hinges on the ability of WiMAX operators and device makers to provide and maintain the quality of service and user experience that Internet consumers expect. WiMAX chipset providers are playing a key role in enabling WiMAX success by their adoption of standards-based device management.
Provisioning millions of new subscribers and managing millions of devices that will operate on the network, often temporarily, poses unique challenges to WiMAX operators. Managing a network that combines mobile and fixed equipment requires a new set of management capabilities for WiMAX devices.

OMA-DM standard
To meet these challenges, WiMAX chipset providers are adopting the Open Mobile Alliance Device Management (OMA-DM) standard, which has already been proven in the cellular industry by managing hundreds of millions of mobile devices worldwide. The standard has been adapted by the WiMAX Forum to meet the unique requirements of WiMAX operators and equipment manufacturers of fixed, nomadic and mobile devices.
In the cellular market, the OMA-DM enabler is used by operators and manufacturers to remotely manage mobile phones and other devices over the air, including performing firmware updates, provisioning, configuration management and diagnostics. The standard makes it easier and less expensive for service providers to deploy and maintain customers on their networks. Because key WiMAX operators are choosing to manage devices using OMA-DM, and have included it as a mandate in building their networks, WiMAX chipset providers are actively embedding standards-based OMA-DM client software into their products.
In doing this, WiMAX chipset providers are able to offer their OEM customers a pre-integrated and pre-optimised solution for managing WiMAX devices. This enables faster time to market for mobile WiMAX devices that need to meet the requirements of WiMAX operators, such as Clearwire in the US, and UQ in Japan. Three of the top mobile WiMAX chip providers worldwide - Intel, Beceem and most recently, Fujitsu Microelectronics - have pre-integrated OMA-DM software into their chipsets already, driving this standard into more than 50% of WiMAX chipsets in the market.

Significant expansion
Although the US WiMAX market remains in its early stages, compared with UQ’s upcoming rollout to 6,500 access points in Japan, it is poised for significant expansion this year with rollouts in Portland, Las Vegas, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami and San Francisco. In order to compete or surpass current networks such as cellular, DSL and cable, WiMAX operators need to capture market share with compelling pricing, prove the technology’s capability, and deliver high bandwidth and other functionality not available in current networks and do so quickly, within the next 1-2 years (before LTE becomes a serious threat). By adopting OMA-DM and leveraging the cost-effectiveness of pre-integrating standards-based device management software, WiMAX operators and device makers will be well positioned to support expansion with competitive pricing, scalability and efficiency within their networks.
As important as OMA-DM is to the current phase of WiMAX deployment, it will be even more important as these networks evolve, by providing the platform to deliver more advanced applications and services to WiMAX consumers in the future. The prospects for WiMAX are merely up to the imagination of the operators and their ability to offer attractive services, regardless of the device. The bandwidth capabilities anticipated in WiMAX will likely bring unprecedented access to video, movies and more, driving additional revenue streams to operators, manufacturers and ISVs (independent software vendors) as new services and applications become available.
By adopting OMA-DM, chipset providers are enabling WiMAX operators and device manufacturers to deliver a high-quality, application-rich mobile Internet experience, with a cost-effective device management strategy.

Sink or Swim

Ken Denman, CEO of Openwave, looks at what the industry can do to cope with the imminent tsunami of data as Smartphones and other mobile devices grow in popularity

After years of talk about mobile data services, the day has finally arrived where demand is close to matching the hype. Instead of figuring out how to entice users to adopt new applications and services, the main issue at hand is how to deal with the imminent tidal waves of data usage heading to operators' networks. 
In the last two years, we’ve seen Smartphones move to the mainstream, and we can expect continued uptake, along with the development of other mobile devices such as netbooks and PC dongles. According to Strategy Analytics, by 2011, the amount of mobile data traffic will increase nearly fourfold from its current levels.

Two waves
At Openwave, we’ve been closely tracking the amount of data on networks, and have identified two approaching waves of demand for mobile data. As stated above, the first is upon us: the arrival of Smartphones in the market. From mid-2006 to mid-2009, the volume of data served to Smartphones increased almost 100 times. In the US market, the current amount of data traffic represents around 100 petabytes (100,000 terabytes) per year. By 2012, this could grow to as much as 250 petabytes.
At the same time, we’ve seen that the volume of data served to feature phones peaked in 2008 and has started dropping off as Smartphones are replacing feature phones as the device of choice for mobile data consumers. Current data volume totals for feature phones in the US are around 8 petabytes, projected to drop to around 5 petabytes by 2012.
While this trend is important for operators, we predict the second wave of demand fuelled by new mobile devices will completely eclipse the growth in Smartphones, both in terms of magnitude and speed. Current levels stand at around 800 petabytes per year in the US, but we feel that this could exponentially grow to nearly 4500 petabytes by 2012.
The situation is the same in Europe. The analyst, Forrester, predicts that 125 million Europeans will access the mobile Internet by 2013, more than tripling today’s number of users. According to a December 2008 comScore report, 25% of the total UK population now accesses the Internet from a mobile device, up 9% on last year.
While the growth is largely driven by better hardware, we have also seen a number of other non-traditional players entering the mobile Internet market and sparking competition. In February, France Telecom-Orange announced a large push into the combined mobile and PC Internet space, through a joint deal with HP. Skype announced deals with Nokia and Sony Ericsson to integrate its service into several different phone models. Before Christmas, the operator Hutchinson and handset vendor INQ, launched the INQ1, which integrates data services such as Facebook, MSN and eBay directly into the software of the handset.

User Experience 2.0
As we have witnessed in the traditional web, niche information and personalised content are usurping mass market hits. We now see major brands prioritising the customer experience and exploring the best ways to reach their customers through what some are calling ‘User Experience 2.0’, an attempt to proactively unite users with relevant content and services. The goal is to make content discovery much simpler and more targeted, eliminating the awkward left-to-right scrolling when browsing, presenting relevant content first, and improving site navigation. It is a dynamic process of interpreting the content being served and enhancing and adapting it on the fly to provide the best possible user experience.
User Experience 2.0 is an exciting prospect for consumers, but it can be a little bit daunting for operators. Networks are already struggling to support the increase in traffic; a better experience will only increase traffic volume.
And thus, the operators are faced with the current dilemma of investing in their infrastructure during uncertain economic times. Cutting corners could result in a poor user experience, impacting the operator directly as subscribers are more likely to blame the network than the handset or content provider.
Operators must figure out how best to spend their money to cope with this massive increase in data demand, improve the experience, and monetise it in a way that benefits their business and their subscribers. 

Content optimization
In the short term, operators can take rapid action to ensure they are optimizing their networks. The key is to use data management and compression techniques. Openwave’s experience with customers around the world, including Telstra in Australia, has shown how the ability to rapidly scale to meet changing customer needs, as well as support new protocols, content types and applications, is critical to competitiveness.
Integra, Openwave’s mobile Internet platform, is designed with open interfaces to flexibly address the market's need for fast, open and secure service management. It also gives operators the ability to introduce new services, without having to overhaul the infrastructure, which can deliver significant cost savings. At Telstra, the introduction of Integra has brought a fourfold efficiency gain over an equivalent WAP gateway.
In the long term, however, bandwidth management will require more than just optimization. Some operators are considering whether a tiered usage and cost model will be better for their business than the current ‘all you can eat’ subscriptions. If so, they must figure out how to migrate their users to this new pricing structure. Smart operators will be able to distinguish themselves from their competitors by offering premium services to customers. This will require close bandwidth management, in order to make sure that a sufficient portion is reserved for these preferred services.

More devices, more opportunity
The expanding eco-system of the mobile Internet will also bring new business opportunities for operators. New devices mean new mobile Internet services and additional sources of revenue. The introduction of the iPhone alone has increased data traffic six-fold per customer. The Blackberry Storm and other popular mobile devices will only solidify these trends.
In order to launch the right services, it’s critical for operators to gain a deep understanding of consumers’ online habits. Openwave’s Mobile Analytics tool does just this, working seamlessly and unobtrusively with the data access portal to monitor usage. Mobile Analytics gives operators significant advantages by combining demographic information with data consumption patterns to deliver relevant products and targeted advertising to consumers.
If operators are slow to act, the market will move without them and they will be marginalised to the role of a dumb pipe, mere providers of flat-rate data access, similar to the fixed-line operators before them. Operators need a solution that capitalises on their core business and unique assets to add value across a mass market of handsets. 
Openwave’s Mobile Internet platform and services are a mass-market approach to bringing the PC Internet to mobile devices. Leveraging the mobile operator’s network ownership and direct relationship with the consumer, the solution not only helps deliver a fast, safe and seamless user experience, but gives operators the monitoring tools to manage traffic and effectively market their services. 
It is clear to us that the scale of the challenge facing the mobile industry is immense. It is therefore absolutely paramount that operators embrace it head-on, invest in capacity and begin to develop services that will make the most of the coming opportunities. Some already have, but more need to follow.

S. Africa - Land of Opportunity

Hemant Kumar, Assistant Manager, Online Marketing and Advertising Sales, at mobile ad network Mkhoj, looks at the mobile advertising opportunities for brands in S. Africa

S. Africa is considered the fourth fastest-growing mobile communications market in the world. It has witnessed a huge success in the adoption of mobile communications, and also in the acceptance and growth of mobile advertising. The secret behind this tremendous success lies in the inherent behaviour or the market, including social and economic factors.
If we examine the success of S. Africa closely, some interesting facts emerge. Firstly, mobile penetration in S. Africa outnumbers PC penetration by a ratio of 2:1. Credit has to also go to S. Africa’s highly progressive user base, which has adopted the mobile Internet in a huge way. Mobile data usage is encouraged by the competitive operator market, which provides low-cost Internet access. In fact, S. Africa recently witnessed a whopping 90% cut in data charges, with the average now standing at approximately 2 Rand/MB (£0.16). In all, the favourable ecosystem, working in tandem with the competitive market, provides the right environment for the growth of mobile advertising.

Market insights
This market has shown some unique trends that create a good mobile advertising opportunity for publishers and advertisers. The number of publishers in S. Africa is significantly lower than the number of advertisers. The reason for this boils down to a simple supply and demand phenomenon. The user base in S. Africa is more inclined towards international sites rather than local sites. Over time, seeing the successful adoption by users, the number of local advertisers began to grow at a fast pace. The increase in the number of international publishers was much slower. This resulted in a large number of advertisers compared to the number of publishers, creating a high demand for publishers in the market. The outcome of this is high cost-per-click (CPC), giving publishers opportunities to generate high ad revenues.
At mKhoj, we strongly believe that in S. Africa, publishers stand to gain from the advantages of early adoption, such as lower competition. We have seen our partners have a great experience wiuth their mobile advertising campaigns, due to the high monetization capabilities of the S. African market.
From an advertiser standpoint, though the industry standards demand a high CPC, the customer usage helps to maintain the profitability levels and justify the investment. The user base is very content download-friendly. In fact, in the month of May, 85% of our network traffic from S. Africa was driven by content downloads.

Useful services
We believe that the services that are valuable to S. African mobile users will be the ones that are useful, simple, uncomplicated and easy to use. They will make users’ lives easier, or give them access to services that were previously unavailable or too expensive.
Over the past couple of months, the mKhoj network has seen a tremendous growth in mobile Internet traffic in S. Africa. Mobile advertising in S. Africa is being demystified. The time for advertisers, agencies and publishers to capitalize is here.

Threatening Behaviour

Jay Seaton, Chief Marketing Officer at Airwide Solutions, look at the increasing threat to mobile users as they use their phones to go online and download applications, and at possible solutions

In less than 12 months, the Apple App Store has revolutionised the global mobile industry. It has helped usher in a new wave of applications and services which, combined with the greater availability of open mobile networks, lower mobile data costs and the wider variety of Smartphones, has helped create a new type mobile communications experience…one dominated by a new generation of content, entertainment and social networking.
However, the industry is realising that while the opportunity is vast, the new channels of communication can be exploited very easily. This is not only of concern to the mobile operators, application developers and end users, but also to the brands wishing to use these channels to influence the consumer. Unless appropriate controls are put in place to protect people from harassment, unsolicited messaging, inappropriate content and fraud, these concerns have the potential to inhibit the growth of mobile marketing and the usage of messaging and data. Without the ability to preserve privacy by managing content and access, a user has one choice - suffer or switch off the service.

So what are the biggest threats?
As the mobile ecosystem evolves, the threats (namely fraud, theft, virsues and spam) have become more numerous and more aggressive. Almost every day there are reports of new security loop holes being breached but what is making them extra concerning is the ease of which they are being exploited.
Earlier this month, Reuters reported a scam allowing criminals and hackers to send spoof text messages to mobile phones under the guise of a user’s mobile operator. If accepted, the message was able to change the phone’s settings, making it vulnerable to further intrusion. Hackers were able to access sensitive information (such as account details or PIN codes used for mobile banking, confidential company information or personal details), steal data, install or remove programmes, inject malicious worms and even access internal mobile operator network resources.
Similar SMS spoof threats were also reported earlier this year – such as a threat to the social media tool Twitter. Here, according to tests run by Heise Security, hackers were able to post fake status updates on users’ private Twitter-feeds, via an SMS faking service.
Although these risks seem relatively small at the moment, with mobile becoming a recognised space of rapid growth – particularly with the rise of Smartphones and uptake of external content via applications and enhanced services – the problem is becoming more acute. Unless protective procedures are put in place, security flaws like this latest one will leave billions of mobile phones at risk of fraud.

Encryption mechanisms
So how can we protect ourselves against these heightening mobile threats? While there should always be a degree of responsibility for handset manufacturers to provide encryption mechanisms in order to protect their users, we should also recognise that handset based solutions can be limited as they only protect a relatively small number of mobile users from a certain subset of threats. Also, with mobile devices constantly being upgraded and replaced with higher specification devices, security software is often quickly outdated.
There is also of course the risk the subscribers pose themselves. Although most people interact with their mobiles in a responsible way, there is a possibility for users to unwittingly accept a fraudulent installation of new settings if they believe it is coming from a trusted network provider.
One of the most effective answers instead lies with the mobile operators, as mobile security solutions which are deployed on a network level are both controllable and easily upgraded. Currently, many network operators voluntarily police potential fraudsters, but as messaging services continue to grow and become more complex, networks need a comprehensive range of features, such as anti-spam and virus filtering software, EIR systems and blacklisting, anti-spoofing and anti-flooding technology.

Mobile security technologies
Using a variety of mobile security technologies, including anti-spam, anti-spoof and anti-flooding, along with next generation gateways, operators can detect abnormal patterns in messaging traffic, confirm legitimate senders, filter content and block suspicious messages. 

In the case of these latest scams, deploying a combination of spam filtering and anti-fraud techniques would help operators not only block the fraudulent messages, but also disable bypass mechanisms, ensuring they always have full control over the access channel to the subscriber. Filtering content also helps the fight against the spread of viruses and trojans. Blacklisting permits users to block certain phone numbers and incoming messages coming from these phones, whilst EIR systems have proved to be a very useful tool in handset fraud prevention.
With appropriate security measures in place, mobile operators can protect their subscribers and their networks from potentially damaging security risks. As the rise of applications and services continues, they can also protect their revenues, without fear of jeopardising them through malicious attacks. Once customers feel assured they will not receive a barrage of potentially dangerous unwanted messages if they download an application, they will feel more confident about downloading content and services in the future

Multimodal Mobile

Philippe Jeanrenaud, Director, Speech Mobility Marketing, EMEA at Nuance, looks at the trend towards offering multiple forms of text input and commands on mobiles

It seems as though the mobile device market has been evolving and growing at break-neck speed over the last few years, particularly with the advent of the iPhone. We’re relying on our phones more than ever to not only make calls, but to send text messages and emails, download music, get directions to a coffee shop we just found by searching the web on the phone – it’s amazing, and it’s only going to continue to get better with the downloadable application market rapidly heating up.
But just as we have an amazing pool of applications and services at our disposal to get our devices to do just about anything, so getting access to those apps faster and more easily becomes a key challenge for handset manufacturers and carriers. In addition to the clear need to ensure the user experience is the best one for their consumers, there is also  huge revenue potential at stake. Easier access to, and increased usage of, applications and services ultimately increases the average revenue per user (ARPU). And it’s all about ARPU, right?
Predictive text and speech recognition software are already playing a role in creating that path to the ultimate user experience, and many of the phones coming to market today have both predictive text for faster and easier texting, and basic speech capabilities like Voice Activated Dialling (VAD). But this calibre of implementation is just scratching the surface of how powerful a multimodal input approach can be for creating an amazing user experience that drives revenue and brand loyalty. And of course, there are a number of external factors, like distracted driver legislation, that clearly demonstrate the value of input options being fully integrated.

The keypad evolution 
The evolution of the phone keypad is a good example of how we’re beginning to see increased multimodality on mobile phones – whereas most traditional consumer phones used to only include a 12-key phone pad, the full QWERTY keyboard made its way first onto the BlackBerry, and now onto more and more feature phones. Largely driven by texting and the evolution of lower-level devices being able to handle email, consumers demand faster and easier text input capabilities. With that in mind, we’ve seen many devices over the last few years that feature a 12-key phone pad on the main interface for easy dialling, and a slide-out QWERTY keypad for easy texting and emailing. Consumers to get the best of both worlds – easy calls and easy texts.
But with advent of the iPhone came the touchscreen user interface (and of course, the app store phenomenon) – and a new era in mobile phones was born, with touchscreen devices mow available from several handset makers.
In just the last two-three years, we’ve seen an evolution of modality on the keypad. And there is a clear market for both – with mobile users addicted to the look and feel of the touchscreen, and those who wouldn’t dream of giving up their hard QWERTY keypad. 

Moving beyond VAD
As mentioned earlier, many of today’s phones have basic voice recognition capabilities for dialling numbers and finding contacts, and checking the status of your phone’s battery, eliminating the need to scroll through address books and menus. Voice input is perhaps the fastest and easiest input method, which is why there is an increasing adoption of expanded voice command and control capabilities. In fact, Datamonitor recently released a report stating that the market for advanced speech recognition technologies in mobile devices will triple over the next five years, rising from $32.7 million (£19.7 million) in 2009 to $99.6 million in 2014. We’re seeing this traction unfold, with many of today’s higher-end feature phones now enabling users to access just about any application or service on the device with their voice. Looking to play BubbleSmile? Just say “Go to BubbleSmile” and you’re there. Need to send a text message to John Smith? Just say “Send text to John Smith,” and the input field appears. 
This is where the multimodality of speech and text input are increasingly intersecting, and where the myth of the multimodal handsets is starting to become a reality. For instance, Samsung devices like the Instinct and the Memoir allow users to pull up the text input screen with their voice, and automatically bring them into a touchscreen QWERTY text input field that features predictive text. And of course, there are devices coming to market with full dictation capabilities, where you launch the text application with voice, dictate the message and then send it with a simple voice command – no text input at all. This completely voice-enabled phone is not far from hitting the market, and the technology is here today, where consumers can surf the web, download music and get directions – all via voice commands.

Complementary solution
So why the need for a complementary input solution when voice-driven access is the fastest and the easiest? Simply put, there are many situations where speech input isn’t appropriate. If you’re in a meeting, and you need to send a message to your boss that you’re about to close a major deal, traditional texting is clearly more appropriate. Or if you’re at a concert and want to download the new song your favourite band just played, you’ll likely have a hard time with the voice query in an incredibly noisy environment.
Similarly, there are many situations where text or manual input just doesn’t work either –especially while driving. Many governments across the globe are passing legislation that mandates hands-free control of phones as a means of thwarting the user’s ability to text while driving. And for good reason: a 2008 study conducted by the Technical University of Braunschweig in Germany found that utilizing speech to even dial a number on their phone improved the user’s ability to maintain the ideal car position by 19% when compared to manual dialling. Better still; speech input was also approximately 40% faster in making a call, reducing the distraction period by the same amount. With the fully speech-enabled handset, drivers have the ability to interact with their device as needed. 

Multimodal output
Today’s mobile consumers are quickly realizing that multimodality is more than just input – it’s also about output, and the ability to manage services. Voicemail to text services are perhaps one of the best examples of this, where voice messages are intercepted by an automated service or team of transcriptionists to transcribe a message that is then delivered straight to the user’s inbox, or sent as a text message. Gone are the days of having to listen to a voicemail, then write down a number or message, or worse, missing a voicemail if you can’t access your phone – it’s all completed in a matter of minutes for you and dropped into your inbox.
With regards to output, text-to-speech technology is increasingly being integrated into today’s devices to confirm that an interaction with the phone succeeded or failed, read back text messages, confirm phone numbers and contact information, read aloud directions, and more. Text-to-speech integrated with speech input is the key to the truly hands-free device, where consumers are able to have a conversation with their phone to do virtually anything, such as download a song or get directions. This is one of the most exciting advancements in multimodality, that we’re going to see more of in the coming months.
It’s also worth noting that similar output exists for the hands-on experience as well, with hard and touchscreen keyboards providing haptic feedback, such as a vibration or sound, to confirm that the interaction has taken place. 
Speech and text are increasingly becoming intertwined and integrated on the phone as part of the best possible user experience, that gives consumers the ability to access what they need when they need it, which in turn is driving increased brand loyalty and revenue opportunities for OEMs and operators.  
A key aspect of multimodality that cannot be lost, however, is keeping that ‘power to choose’ input in the user’s hands. Each user’s experience is their own, so it’s important to not completely dictate their interaction with the device and what input method they need – some will likely rely heavily on speech as more phones come to market with advanced capabilities. And of course, there are those who often find themselves in situations where text input is a must have. It’s all about what the user is trying to achieve, and ensuring they have the utmost innovative input technology to get there.   

Future-forward multimodality
Multimodal input and output is an exciting area to watch, as additional areas of speech technology become closely integrated with mobile applications and services. For instance, imagine combining interactive voice response (IVR) technology with enhanced output on the device. One example is calling 1-800-FLOWERS, where the IVR options are enhanced on the screen of the device, providing pictures of the flower options with pricing information, or the ability to design your own flower arrangement right from your phone. To help ensure consumers continue using the service, 1-800-FLOWERS would remember what you ordered in the past, your preferences, etc., and enable the user to place similar orders easier and faster, using voice or text input, right from the phone.  
This scenario is a culmination of on and off-device applications, intertwined with a variety of input and output options that not only drive value for OEMs and operators, but also for the companies that sign on for them.
There’s no doubt that multimodality will continuously evolve, as it provides a richer user experience, enabling consumers to leverage the input and output methods that are best suited for them moment to moment.