Mobile Internet

January 29, 2003
Mobile portals can facilitate m-commerce

Kaushik Phukan

Alan Hadden, president, GSA (Global Mobile Suppliers Association) was recently in India to attend the GSA conference, which was held with the aim to popularise GSM and create an awareness of its benefits.

He was optimistic about GSM's growth and its future in India and the world over. Hadden was equally emphatic about the potential of mobile portals, which according to him have immense potential for the operators to rake in huge revenues. Convergence plus caught up with Hadden to know more about the trends and future of mobile portals. Excerpts from an interview:

CP: How important are mobile portals?
Alan Hadden: As mobile markets evolve toward 3G services, the contribution from mobile portals will grow. They can be used as a key marketing communication channel and a showcase for phones, technologies and value-added services. They can facilitate m-commerce and drive the digital content market. The most profitable areas at present are typically those selling directory enquiries, specified content, ring-tones and logos.

CP: How are mobile portals performing in the Asia Pacific?
Alan Hadden: The GSA survey shows that mobile portals in Asia Pacific have a plentiful supply of content, mainly provided by third party content providers. Many mobile portals also offer PDA specific portals. Japan and South Korea especially have driven market development by rapidly deploying new technologies and introducing functionally advanced handsets.

The synchronisation of handsets, content, services and network technologies has contributed to making the region the world leader in mobile Internet services. Mobile portals are delivering rich, interactive services that have reached a more progressive level. Mobile banking and purchasing are very common in the Asia Pacific region. Other popular services include karaoke, fortune telling and information about horse racing. In the more densely populated countries, property information is available as well. In fact, Asia Pacific leads the world in terms of service maturity, with Western Europe following closely.

CP: What are the main services provided by mobile portals?
Alan Hadden: The largest service categories provided by most portals include information services and directories, email and messaging, various kinds of entertainment, TV and movie information. It includes restaurant information and games as well. Mobile users can order fast food or use their mobile phones as a digital wallet. They can check bank accounts, transfer funds or trade securities, as well as use SMS based m-coupons for discounts.

CP: What are the current trends in other parts of the world?
Alan Hadden: Besides the more common information related services such as news, mobile portals are increasingly offering community services as well as personal information management (PIM) tools, and health related and leisure focused services. Many mobile portals are shifting toward content aggregation. Few portals differ significantly from their counterparts, providing a mainstream service offering.

Downloads, music and adult entertainment have become particularly popular. Messaging -- including MMS and picture messaging -- is now provided by almost half of the mobile portals. Entertainment services have shown significant growth, especially horoscopes, competitions and jokes. Games and gambling have grown markedly in the past year. The best part is that instead of a focusing on growing the quantity of services, the operators have started focussing more on the quality of services.

CP: What should mobile portals do to make themselves more profitable?
Alan Hadden: More focus is needed on the usability issues. Most of the operators are offering similar services. Many mobile portals still focus on quantity instead of quality. The users themselves have to filter out what does not interest them. These things are not right. The customers should be provided with customised services. The operators should be able to deliver unique portal services and leverage their differentiating factors. They should source content from content providers and create a feasible revenue sharing model with their partners. The operators should learn how to manage the technology and minimise subscription requirements.

Another important thing is to simplify billing. The service should be priced not the technology. In addition, operators should ensure a smooth registration process and an easy access to the mobile portal. The portal should include a user-friendly tool for managing personal links, create a consistent navigation structure for all services and ensure minimal clicks. Studying and adopting successful services from other mobile markets will also be a good approach to bring in new services and generate revenues.

CP: What are the future trends of mobile portals?
Alan Hadden: In the future, mobile portals will offer more targeted services to specific groups. Mobile portal operators should select primary target groups, and identify their mobile usage preferences and needs to steer their service development. They should select their partners carefully. They should focus more on content and technology, and especially the channels to market.

The evolution towards more convenient user interfaces, richer services, higher bandwidth and radio access technologies will encourage a wider adoption of mobile Internet services. Portal structures that are too formal need to give way to ensure that users' needs are more personalised to ensure faster access to content most often used.

CP: What do you have to say regarding the controversy between GSM and WLL in India? How do you see the future of GSM?
Alan Hadden: GSM is a global success story. It is the best technology for WLL applications. In fact, every GSM operator can offer WLL in any spectrum. You can provide better services at a lower cost and the takeoff time is much faster. It can give a higher quality user experience as well. In addition, the cost of coverage and the capacity is quite low. GSM is a success story in India too. We are aiming at 120 million subscribers in India by 2008. The future of GSM is simply great.