Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Working Knowledge
Business Research for Business Leaders
  • Browse All Articles
  • Popular Articles
  • Cold Call Podcast
  • Managing the Future of Work Podcast
  • About Us
  • Book
  • Leadership
  • Marketing
  • Finance
  • Management
  • Entrepreneurship
  • All Topics...
  • Topics
    • COVID-19
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Finance
    • Gender
    • Globalization
    • Leadership
    • Management
    • Negotiation
    • Social Enterprise
    • Strategy
  • Sections
    • Book
    • Podcasts
    • HBS Case
    • In Practice
    • Lessons from the Classroom
    • Op-Ed
    • Research & Ideas
    • Research Event
    • Sharpening Your Skills
    • What Do You Think?
    • Working Paper Summaries
  • Browse All
    • Archive

    Europe Business Conference 2000: The New Europe - Calling All Wireless Providers

     
    12/11/2000
    Europe's potential as a leader in the wireless world is still hampered by a number of roadblocks, according to industry experts. At the conference, six representatives from top firms, including Nokia, Alcatel, and AvantGo, discussed challenges ranging from tracking financial transactions to creating a standard operating system that can be used on handsets worldwide. Quipped one panelist, "This is tricky stuff."

    by Martha Lagace, Staff Writer, HBS Working Knowledge

    The New Europe

    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

    Margaret Calvet (HBS MBA '89) In-Fusio
    Margaret Calvet (HBS MBA '89), In-Fusio
    Margaret Calvet (HBS MBA '89), the Bordeaux-based CFO of In-Fusio, a company that provides mobile video games for users all over the world, says "a real issue" remains how to manage billing systems on the industry side so that both content and handset providers are paid appropriately. The current mobile billing systems, she asserted, are not capable of supporting transactions, and the question of how to split up revenues is a thorny one.

    "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."

    · · · ·

    ǁ
    Campus Map
    Harvard Business School Working Knowledge
    Baker Library | Bloomberg Center
    Soldiers Field
    Boston, MA 02163
    Email: Editor-in-Chief
    →Map & Directions
    →More Contact Information
    • Make a Gift
    • Site Map
    • Jobs
    • Harvard University
    • Trademarks
    • Policies
    • Digital Accessibility
    Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College