Fiber Optic:
Berg Insight
Market Study December 2008
This report summarises the latest trends and
pivotal developments that will shape the Internet in the
wireless domain in the next decade.
This strategic research report in its second edition from
Berg Insight provides you with 110 pages of unique
business intelligence and expert commentary on which
to base your business decisions.
This report will allow you to:
Understand the dynamics of the convergence of fixed
and mobile Internet.
Anticipate future trends in mobile e-mail and IM.
Learn about the mobile strategies of leading online
industry players.
Recognise the emerging business opportunities in
mobile media and social networking.
Comprehend the changing roles for different players
in the value chain.
Identify key factors for achieving business success
in the mobile Internet space.
A mobile Internet for
the next decade?
These are exciting times: the mobile web is coming of age, patterns
and preferences in user behaviour are emerging and it is possible
to start discerning market trends and with greater detail predict
coming developments. The number of PCs in use worldwide has
surpassed 1 billion and there are one and a half billion Internet users
globally. At the same time there are more than 4 billion mobile
subscribers, indicating the vast growth potential for mobile internet,
especially considering that 58 percent of the world’s installed PCs
are in markets that account for only 15 percent of the world’s population, meaning that for a majority of the potential users the handset is their main internet terminal.
The global migration to 3G is also picking up pace and the base
of WCDMA 3G subscribers more than doubled during both 2006
and 2007. By June 2008 there were more than 235 million WCDMA
subscribers, representing a 6.4 percent penetration looking at all
mobile subscribers worldwide, and 11 percent if only considering
WCDMA markets. Furthermore the number of EVDO subscribers
was about 100 million in mid-2008. Faster networks alone are however not enough to stimulate the uptake of mobile Internet. Even
among the 3G subscribers in the Western world, the share of mobile
Internet users remains low. This confirms that it is vital that service
providers, operators and handset manufacturers ensure that the
overall experience of the first-time user is smooth, intuitive, reliable
and confidence-inspiring. Berg Insight recommends that services
are designed so that there is a straight-forward and guided way to
access attractive contents for the first-time user, bypassing complex
applications and advanced features until the user is ready for them.
One way of achieving this is through free broadcasting services or
widgets, making attractive contents available with one click on a
running teaser-banner.
Mobile surfers in Western markets are to a large degree fixed Internet
users that use the mobile device as an alternative channel.
There is a larger degree of mobile Internet users among the general
population of internet users than there is in the general population
of mobile users. It is therefore important for mobile service providers
and operators to recognize that it is the PC and what users see and
come across there that to a large degree inspires and motivates
what they do on the mobile internet and what they expect from services there.
Currently the mobile Internet market is fragmented between operators, Internet players and content aggregators trying to find a
way to get on to the small screens, but in a not too distant future,
handset-embedded browsers and automatic re-directs to mobileadopted sites will make the surfing experience smooth regardless of terminal. Then the users will select and stay with mobile services that give them what they have come to expect from the Internet (browsing, e-mail, IM, media, networking…) with the addition of inherit differentiators of surfing-on-the-go – such as instantaneity, personalisation, location and efficiency in presentation. The challenge for service developers and providers will be to design, package and introduce these features so that they become a natural and easily accepted evolution of online communication, which will require a deep understanding of how users communicate and how they interact with mobile technology. It will be crucial that in an already complex networking environment, adding e.g. presence as a mobile feature increases control and simplifies, not the opposite.
It is important to not overlook the emerging markets which comprise
the majority of the world’s mobile users and is the fastest growing
one. Surveys consistently show that the largest interest for data
services over mobile handsets is found in emerging markets, where
undersupplied fixed infrastructure makes the portable phone a viable
utility for many practical applications, not just communication
but also banking, entertainment, commerce and similar. However,
since these users often do not come from a PC background, and
often do not have PC-based internet experience or any fixed access
alternative, their expectations are fundamentally different and the
markets consequently behave differently.
What are the best strategies for extending the digital
Internet universe to the wireless domain?
How is browsing, Internet search and widgets best
experienced with a mobile handset?
What strategies are the leading online and mobile
industry players developing for the mobile Internet?
What will be the main trends in mobile e-mail and IM
in 2009?
How can social networking communities be brought
to the mobile environment?
Which will be the winning business models for delivering
music, video and TV to mobile subscribers?
What is holding back the mass-market adoption of
mobile Internet?
What roles will device manufacturers, operators and
content aggregators play in the future value chain?
For full details, please email jeremyk@cmsinfo.com
CMS, P&A House, Alma Road, Chesham, Bucks. HP5 3HB, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1494 771734
Fax: +44 (0)1494 778994
e-mail: jeremyk@cmsinfo.com
Please note: calls to and from CMS may be recorded for quality control and training purposes.
copyright © 2008 all rights reserved
For more information about us, visit CMSinfo.
