A bit pipe; me…? No way!
03 October 2007
Nokia and Microsoft recently announced that they will be launching a new Windows Live suite (including Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger) for a number of existing and new Nokia phones. This partnership fits a trend that started with Apple’s iPhone; device vendors are now openly competing to take customer ownership from the mobile operator, trying to de-mote them to mere bit pipes.
Acision believes that this attempt will fail. Mobile operators hold almost all the trump cards in this battle over customer ownership. Only the operator can establish a truly compelling offering, universal across handsets and individual services, yet highly targeted as they can observe every transaction on the mobile device. Only the operator can control mobile access and therefore the quality of service for specific users segments and services. As a result, it is also in the interest of the internet players to partner with the operators to mobilise their services, rather than only with handset vendors.
Steven van Zanen, Vice President Marketing for Messaging at Acision, says: “One of the key success factors for any mobile service has been universal reach; it must work on any handset, and on any network. This is why SMS has taken off, and, for example, EMS has not. Mobilisation of compelling internet services is an excellent way to create sticky services. But it can only be successful if it goes beyond providing mobile access to the existing applications. It is not just about overcoming the limitations of mobile, it is far more important to enhance the internet services with the unique capabilities of the mobile network. This is impossible without active involvement of the operator.”