I go to the gym every day for an hour and a half. Some say I’m crazy, but I think of myself as a “heavy user”. Thankfully, there aren’t too many like me. Otherwise, the gym owner would go out of business, as her model is to oversell memberships under the assumption that only a small percentage of users will actually utilize the gym’s services.
This is also the model of the wireless carriers when they sell unlimited (“all-you-can-eat”) data plans. It still works because the mobile browsing experience is… well, less than ideal. Apple has started to change this with the iPhone. In some European countries, a small percentage of iPhone users generate as much traffic on the network as all the other smartphone and feature phone users combined. This is because iPhone users are using the device like a laptop – they browse wherever their mind takes them, unlike users of less capable phones which are browsing only specific sites. Similarly, a small percentage of laptop users with wireless USB dongles and PCMCIA cards generate 90-95% of the traffic of major carriers. What do you think the impact of millions of iPhone and iPhone-like users is going to be? Thankfully, Bytemobile optimization solutions allow carriers to manage their investment in denser network coverage, but this is only a cost control measure.
Every business owner knows that cost control is not enough. It must be supported with solid top-line growth. Even gym owners have found incremental revenue opportunities in clothing items, power bars, personal training classes, day-care facilities, and towel services. Every gas station owner knows that almost 50% of the station’s revenue comes from the convenience store rather than the gas pumps. In the telecommunications business, these incremental revenue opportunities come from “value-added services”. The wireless carriers figured this out long ago. They all sell ringtones, logos, games, and other items on their portal sites.
The problem is that iPhone and smartphone users not only browse more, but they also browse differently. As indicated earlier, they browse wherever their mind takes them. Now, that presents a much bigger challenge to wireless carriers, as they need to control not only the iPhone device itself, but also the mind of the iPhone user. Maybe “mind control” is a bit much, but how would you characterize an internet business model that is based solely on influencing users via search results, advertisements and peer pressure (a.k.a. social networking)? As the wireless user accesses the World Wide Web and leaves the mobile portal behind, he/she is exposed to the influence of internet giants like Google, which has figured out how to turn the power of influence into a cash machine. How can the wireless service provider gain back the user’s mindshare? This, my friends, is the multi-billion-dollar question.
There is hope. The wireless carriers sit on the link between users and content. In fact, they are the link. If they don’t like the content available to their users, they can block it or slow it down. There are obviously legal questions here, but some carriers are so concerned about P2P (peer-to-peer) traffic that they have taken their battle to court. They can cap unlimited data plans. It’s clearly an oxymoron, but nevertheless they can do that. However, these are all cost control measures. What about mindshare? Well, if you think about it, the path to the mind is through the eye. This is why value on the Internet is measured in “eyeballs”. Wherever you browse in the maze of the World Wide Web, your eye will find information in the form of subtle and not-so-subtle advertisements. As the gatekeepers of the Internet, the wireless carriers are vey much in a position to capture eyeballs by overlaying advertisements and other information on every website you visit, whether it is on or off the carrier’s portal.
Intrusive? Not necessarily. Unlike most of the sites that you browse, which bombard you with ads or force you to watch a 15-second pre-roll video, the carrier can provide you with relevant, useful and timely information that actually enhances your browsing experience. The carrier knows your mobile device, it knows where you are, it knows what all the other users are doing on the network, it knows what is popular on the wireless Internet, and it knows exactly what you’ve been searching on Google lately. This is not an invasion of privacy – it is simply the reality of being the access provider. With Bytemobile Web Fidelity Service, carriers can harness the power of influence in an intelligent way that adds value not just for themselves, but also for you, the end user.
- Joel Brand
