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The wireless space is rife with opportunity, agreed top industry players at the conference—in part because there are still so many bugs to be fixed.
While Europe seems to have an edge as far as abundance of mobile devices goes, panelists acknowledged that Europe's potential is still boxed in by several bothersome roadblocks. They said that whomever manages to solve problems ranging from "how to send the bill to the right person," for instance, to somehow developing a sophisticated Internet-capable mobile phone that is still lightweight and pocket-sized, is going to hit a gold mine.
"This is tricky stuff," noted Alcatel's George Hendry, by way of understatement. European and American representatives from other top firms such as Nokia, AvantGo, Goyada, In-Fusio, and Orange seconded the notion, offering their views on how the wireless phenomenon should be evaluated and improved, not only in Europe but also worldwide.
Paying, and getting paid, fairly
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"People aren't interested in surfing the ‘Net on the phone," Calvert stated, suggesting they will instead use their mobile devices to dispense with random errands such as buying tickets and checking news headlines, in addition to playing games. It is therefore crucial for industry players to deal with problems surrounding billing.
But sorting out financial structures is not unique to the wireless space, added moderator Paul Harvey (HBA MBA '91), managing director of Goldman Sachs's European Technology Group. "I've had discussions with Amazon, [and] they are frustrated just about getting a sophisticated billing system in place on the fixed Internet," he said.
On the user side, observed Tapio Siik of Nokia's adaptive mobile applications group, a vital area of technology needing work is how to send the bill to the right person. "How do you authenticate the user of the mobile device in the right way?" Siik wondered. "It has to be very secure."
Small but smart
The moderator issued this challenge: "If there was one company or service or software solution that you'd like to invest money in, what would it be?" The panelists debated a number of initiatives, such as personalization, entertainment, and machine-to-machine communication. The leading contender, though, is any innovation that would make the mobile Internet more "consumable" by the end user, observed both Alcatel's Hendry and Richard A. Miner, vice president of Orange Plc., a London-based subsidiary of France Telecom. Although there are physical limitations to the devices now, Miner said, those would improve over time.
"We certainly see things that are very promising to help make the world of electronic data content much more accessible," Miner continued. "You basically lose 50 percent of potential subscribers for each additional click that you have to push through on [these devices]. So anything that can reduce that overhead is the biggest, single most important innovation that we can introduce on the operator side, and in partnership with the applications and the content."
"I still see a lot of lousy interfaces, even on a PC," added Siik. "It's not only the handset we are talking about, but also the networking." Developing a lightweight mobile phone that boasts a large, easy-to-read screen yet can still fold into a pocket is a big dilemma, he admitted. Although full-color displays are available today, most mobile phone users can't afford them. "If you want something small, you have to compromise somewhere," he said.
When a member of the audience asked why user interfaces remain so backward, Hendry and others asserted that developing sophisticated technology boils down to investment.
"And the second thing is, ‘Where's the money coming from to pay for all this?'" Hendry asked. Mobile firms are caught in a tug-of-war, he said, because it costs a lot to develop smarter technology, yet they don't know for sure whether anyone will buy it.
"Why in Japan does everyone with I-mode devices have a color terminal?" wondered Calvet.
"I think somebody's paying the bill for those handsets," suggested Harvey. "And quite frankly, the more features you give [means that] somebody is trying to buy customers and is paying a high price."
Quizzed by the audience about the potential for devising a standard operating system not just for Europe, but for the United States as well, Hendry stated, "You've touched on a nightmare.
"This would need a whole new standard for data," he added. "I don't see the world being able to talk to each other for a long, long time."
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