The mobile industry needs to standardise technology platforms so that it can stimulate greater innovation and bring increased value to its consumers. With the rollout of new networking technologies such as 3G, 4G and interoperability with WiFi and Future WiMax, higher bandwidths will accelerate development of new services. The industry’s track record in service offerings to date has been poor and, with young pretenders such as Google and Apple snapping at its heels, it can’t afford another failure such as WAP or UMTS.

Traditional operators are growing through acquisition in developing markets – take for example Vodafone’s recent purchase of Hutchison Essar for $11.1 billion. In the short term this enables them to return to what they are good at, the acquisition of new customers, but it has also made them focus on new products and services which are relevant to the markets in which they are operating. Mobile banking services, for example, have as yet failed to get much traction in the West, but they may well have a significant reduction on churn in markets such as Kenya where there is little or no banking alternative. Expect also the delivery of more new low-cost, low-functionality handsets as operators go back to the basics.

Concurrent to establishing new markets operators must ride the Web 2.0 wave and become internet-based businesses. Despite the attendant risks to privacy, social networking sites, specially adapted to mobile, will soon be the norm; charging models will adapt to mobile advertising and reduced rate or even free calls will be available. Gaming, music downloads and Mobile TV are all set to become more sophisticated, localised and interactive. The common innovation driver behind all
this? Google.