Mobile Data Services Revolution

Gopala Krishnan, Co-founder, Mobile2Win.com


Use of data services on Mobile Networked Devices is on the verge of a major revolution in India. This holds true not just for India, but for most countries worldwide. One phrase encapsulating the driving force: The Mobile Internet.

In the pre-2005 period, globally, we understood Mobile VAS to be simple infotainment or communication products sold to consumers by telecom companies, media companies and VAS companies and billed through the Telco billing systems. These products were Music (ringtones, ringback tones), images, animations, games, sports alerts, televoting, news, jokes etc.

Now, a significant and growing base of inexpensive, lower end, mobile devices, are Internet capable. A large proportion of telecom companies worldwide are moving to open up Internet access to their consumers; those who don’t, face the prospect of losing customers to competition. This trend will drive the creation of a large ecosystem of content and service providers on the Mobile Web – This will be similar to the growth of such an ecosystem on the PC Web from 1994-2005.

We are therefore, on the cusp of an explosion in the sheer number of Internet users in poor and developing countries like India, as people who do not own PCs, but mobile phones, start accessing content and services on the Internet through their Mobile devices.

In addition, in India as well as globally, we will see a major increase in Internet usage across all economic strata, driven by the ability of people to access the Web, while on the move, away from their PCs. Just like we saw a dramatic fall in voice call charges in India between 1996 and 2008 (98% if calculated in real terms at 2008 prices), there will be an equally dramatic fall in data charges in the next 2-5 years. This will be driven by competition as well as various other factors.

In India, as a result of this, over the next 5 years, we will see between 250 to 350 million people gaining Internet access. This has enormous implications for the people of our country. The relevance and importance of this is very significant in a poor country like ours, where most of our people are information starved and thus poorly empowered in various spheres of economic, social, political and human activity. For example, for the farmer with a small landholding in a remote village, it not only means access to today’s prices at various Mandis nearby, but also the ability to make an online trade for his harvest in an online commodities market and de-risk his position. It gives him the capability to get news –on weather and a diverse set of topics with analyses and commentaries from various sources, influencing his future behaviour and habits. He can listen to songs of his choice or watch a small video program or the current cricket match on his mobile and get entertained while he is in his field.

Why just farmers? Everybody gets empowered in various ways. Access to the Internet for the poor and Mobility of the Internet for the richer – both of these create life changing scenarios.

Another real possibility is for the mobile Internet device to become a preferred payment mechanism for a whole range of goods and services. It becomes a “virtual wallet”. Imagine the power of such a universally available “micro payment” system. There is a world of opportunities for content and service providers of all kinds to reach out to consumers across our country and globally through the Mobile Internet. These services will be provided in various models – free, ad supported or subscriptions using various payment mechanisms. These services could be multimedia as well as multilingual. Rich audio and video with text and interactivity, in any language…

And, it is not just about the Mobile Internet, but also about the Broadband Mobile Internet. 3G, 4G, WiMAX etc. are but terms which ultimately will result in providing consumers with fast, multimedia, access to the Internet through their Mobile Devices.

These things are happening very fast. 5 Years from now, the Mobile Data Services landscape will be a changed one and a very large one.