Hands0n
27th November 2005, 11:22 PM
Certainly, the current state of mobile data is that of an exclusive club of very select members, when taken in context with the number of mobile users in the UK. This is in large part due to the extortionate charges that data access via mobile incurs. The linked article (below) make for some interesting reading.
I like, especially, the bit that reads "If 3G operators want to see a return on their investment, then they must get the mass market going as soon as possible. There is no niche market on earth big enough to repay the debt, let alone make anyone some money -- it has to be popular, which means it has to be cheap. And the idea of selling expensive services in a restricted environment is similarly flawed: as wired broadband providers have found, this is not the reason people want to be connected. " A point that I am particularly attuned to. To date, the mobile operators seem to have not grasped this particular nettle and the longer they wait (or play games with us) the more likely that something else will sneak up past them.
Get easier, Go more places, Grab less money
We've just completed our first test of 3G data cards -- one each from every network offering such a service, and you can read our findings here. In brief: they work, mostly. They're useful, certainly. But they're nowhere near good enough and the service costs far too much. Not good news for the networks that have sunk tens of billions of pounds in licence fees and infrastructure.
Read the full article here --> http://comment.zdnet.co.uk/other/0,39020682,39174748,00.htm
I like, especially, the bit that reads "If 3G operators want to see a return on their investment, then they must get the mass market going as soon as possible. There is no niche market on earth big enough to repay the debt, let alone make anyone some money -- it has to be popular, which means it has to be cheap. And the idea of selling expensive services in a restricted environment is similarly flawed: as wired broadband providers have found, this is not the reason people want to be connected. " A point that I am particularly attuned to. To date, the mobile operators seem to have not grasped this particular nettle and the longer they wait (or play games with us) the more likely that something else will sneak up past them.
Get easier, Go more places, Grab less money
We've just completed our first test of 3G data cards -- one each from every network offering such a service, and you can read our findings here. In brief: they work, mostly. They're useful, certainly. But they're nowhere near good enough and the service costs far too much. Not good news for the networks that have sunk tens of billions of pounds in licence fees and infrastructure.
Read the full article here --> http://comment.zdnet.co.uk/other/0,39020682,39174748,00.htm