Ben
14th April 2005, 01:26 PM
Full Story: http://www.vnunet.com/features/1162460
The brave new world of the advanced, third-generation (3G) mobile phone service has arrived. About two years later than it was meant to, 3G mobile services finally became widely available in Europe at the end of 2004.
But several questions remain for many people: is this technology all it's cracked up to be; and what will 3G services mean for consumers who are, after all, the key participants in its success?
In this feature, we take a look at what all the hype is about and find out if 3G is truly here and, more importantly, whether it is for you.
*snip*
Is 3G hot or not?
In the face of enormous consumer scepticism, mobile network operators are trying to remain optimistic about the prospects for 3G services. These services, we are told, will revolutionise the way we work and live, creating a high-speed, easy-to-use link over which we can send and receive messages, pictures, information, entertainment and other advanced services, including, of course, the ability to have a voice conversation.
Steve Jones, author of 3G Launch Strategies: Early Adopters - Why and How to Make Them Yours, suggests that we won't be seeing any large scale take-up of 3G yet but that the numbers will grow if the service providers target users correctly.
"The essential factors needed to encourage mass market consumer take-up of 3G services won't exist for some time but targeting the early adopter sector at launch will build a strong foundation for the success of 3G," he said.
Until now, most of the marketing of what mobile networks have to offer has been focused on the phones themselves. This is likely to continue, with consumers ever more fashion-conscious in their choice of communication tool.
However, before persuading them to part with £500 for a 3G device and £60 per month for the contract charges, mobile operators must first succeed in persuading them that these tools will add real value to their lives in the first place. The secret here lies in the marketing of those services and the role that operators play in providing content.
"The success or failure of 3G services will be determined by what role the mobile operators decide to play in the mobile market," explained Avi Azulai, managing director of iTouch UK, a mobile content aggregator.
"Key to 3G's success is that the technology works properly, handsets are user-friendly, content is compelling and the services can be billed properly."
Uncertain services
Apart from the 3 network, which was launched back in March 2003, the other four mobile operators' 3G launches will be complete by mid-2005. Vodafone launched its consumer 3G Live! service last November, Orange followed in December and O2 launched its offering in January. Only T-Mobile remains and it is widely thought to be close to launching soon.
3G coverage remains patchy, with services only available in cities and the more densely populated suburban areas. However, this situation is set to improve dramatically throughout this year as operators ramp up their base station deployment throughout the country.
In the short term 3G will mostly enable the same applications and content available on the current networks to function more effectively, providing consumers with a significantly better experience, according to Helen Wylde, head of corporate marketing at O2.
"The initial stage of 3G will be more about speeding up the performance of basic applications like email, web browsing and content downloads," she explained.
Video calling and downloads are the main multimedia offerings available via 3G that were not previously available. Both Vodafone and 3 offer Premiership football highlights at 50p per download or a £15 monthly subscription for all you can watch.
Mobile operator Hutchinson 3G UK has announced that more than 10 million music videos have been watched by customers on their mobiles since the launch of its video jukebox service six months ago.
Hutchinson 3G UK has also entered into an agreement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment UK to allow music videos to be downloaded or streamed to their video mobiles. At the time of going to press, Sony BMG artists such as Destiny's Child, Lemar, Manic Street Preachers and the Zutons were slated to be added to the video jukebox service, with more big names in the pipeline.
Of course, services like these don't come free, and 3 UK is charging £1.50 per music download, a substantial sum by any measure.
Another concept tipped to do well over 3G is games. The mobile games sector has witnessed incredible investment over the past year as downloadable Java-based games challenge messaging services as the chief revenue source for mobile data.
"There's a lot of experimentation going on now," explained Brian Greasley, chief executive at mobile games developer Digital Bridges, which publishes mobile versions of EA Sports titles like FIFA Soccer and Tiger Woods Pro Golf.
"The games industry is fantastic at eating bandwidth and 3G allows us to create 'fatter' content. All current mobile games are less than 100Kb in size. 3G allows 250-500Kb sized games which introduce better graphics, better streaming and better audio."
However, Greasley remains cautious about his 3G expansion plans for the company, saying that innovative working 3G content is still two or three years away. "It's not going to be mass market before then and I won't switch my research and development there until 3G is mass market."
The future is multimedia
Mobile music continues to be a hot topic for discussion within the industry. Just about everyone believes that offering music on a handset is a no-brainer. With the success of portable music players such as the Walkman or Apple's iPod, there is little reason why consumers will not love audio on their phones.
Microsoft has jumped onto this bandwagon already and has licensed parts of its Windows Media platform to Nokia for use in its phones. The Finnish handset manufacturer has also expanded its mobile media partnership with Microsoft rival Real Networks by announcing it will use Real's media platforms for its new online mobile music service Loudeye.
Lee Joseph, general manager for Real's mobile business in Europe, claims that his company saw the potential of 3G when it was building its internet business.
"We asked mobile operators why they were spending money on 3G licences and they told us it was because of video and audio streaming. We've proven that consumers are prepared to pay for digital music, we've consulted with operators and now we are building the eco-system," he said.
"The perfect mobile music service will be subscription-based, with music streamed to the device. Once higher download speeds arrive and digital rights management [DRM] improves, content owners will be able to tap into 'super distribution' of their content via mobile networks. The difference will be that with DRM, the content owner will retain control over it and be able to charge for repeated use."
Not just yet
For now, the real benefits of 3G remain a year or two away, both in terms of range and quality of service and also pricing and quality of coverage. Early adopters are likely to be the business community, and sales of 3G data cards for notebook computers are doing very well. This is all fine and good for business, but what about the mainstream consumer?
"3G provides a platform to enhance customer experience," said Hugh Griffith, head of data at O2. "It has been restricted by existing technology but richer multimedia content, in particular multi-player gaming, is now arriving. Over the next two years there will also be a big increase in content providers."
3G looks promising, much like a freshly bottled wine. You like the look of it and you're certain it'll taste good, but not until it's fully matured, so you leave it on the shelf for a few years till its ready. And in this spirit we say that today's 3G harvest has a bit of maturing to do, so don't break out your corkscrew just yet.
The brave new world of the advanced, third-generation (3G) mobile phone service has arrived. About two years later than it was meant to, 3G mobile services finally became widely available in Europe at the end of 2004.
But several questions remain for many people: is this technology all it's cracked up to be; and what will 3G services mean for consumers who are, after all, the key participants in its success?
In this feature, we take a look at what all the hype is about and find out if 3G is truly here and, more importantly, whether it is for you.
*snip*
Is 3G hot or not?
In the face of enormous consumer scepticism, mobile network operators are trying to remain optimistic about the prospects for 3G services. These services, we are told, will revolutionise the way we work and live, creating a high-speed, easy-to-use link over which we can send and receive messages, pictures, information, entertainment and other advanced services, including, of course, the ability to have a voice conversation.
Steve Jones, author of 3G Launch Strategies: Early Adopters - Why and How to Make Them Yours, suggests that we won't be seeing any large scale take-up of 3G yet but that the numbers will grow if the service providers target users correctly.
"The essential factors needed to encourage mass market consumer take-up of 3G services won't exist for some time but targeting the early adopter sector at launch will build a strong foundation for the success of 3G," he said.
Until now, most of the marketing of what mobile networks have to offer has been focused on the phones themselves. This is likely to continue, with consumers ever more fashion-conscious in their choice of communication tool.
However, before persuading them to part with £500 for a 3G device and £60 per month for the contract charges, mobile operators must first succeed in persuading them that these tools will add real value to their lives in the first place. The secret here lies in the marketing of those services and the role that operators play in providing content.
"The success or failure of 3G services will be determined by what role the mobile operators decide to play in the mobile market," explained Avi Azulai, managing director of iTouch UK, a mobile content aggregator.
"Key to 3G's success is that the technology works properly, handsets are user-friendly, content is compelling and the services can be billed properly."
Uncertain services
Apart from the 3 network, which was launched back in March 2003, the other four mobile operators' 3G launches will be complete by mid-2005. Vodafone launched its consumer 3G Live! service last November, Orange followed in December and O2 launched its offering in January. Only T-Mobile remains and it is widely thought to be close to launching soon.
3G coverage remains patchy, with services only available in cities and the more densely populated suburban areas. However, this situation is set to improve dramatically throughout this year as operators ramp up their base station deployment throughout the country.
In the short term 3G will mostly enable the same applications and content available on the current networks to function more effectively, providing consumers with a significantly better experience, according to Helen Wylde, head of corporate marketing at O2.
"The initial stage of 3G will be more about speeding up the performance of basic applications like email, web browsing and content downloads," she explained.
Video calling and downloads are the main multimedia offerings available via 3G that were not previously available. Both Vodafone and 3 offer Premiership football highlights at 50p per download or a £15 monthly subscription for all you can watch.
Mobile operator Hutchinson 3G UK has announced that more than 10 million music videos have been watched by customers on their mobiles since the launch of its video jukebox service six months ago.
Hutchinson 3G UK has also entered into an agreement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment UK to allow music videos to be downloaded or streamed to their video mobiles. At the time of going to press, Sony BMG artists such as Destiny's Child, Lemar, Manic Street Preachers and the Zutons were slated to be added to the video jukebox service, with more big names in the pipeline.
Of course, services like these don't come free, and 3 UK is charging £1.50 per music download, a substantial sum by any measure.
Another concept tipped to do well over 3G is games. The mobile games sector has witnessed incredible investment over the past year as downloadable Java-based games challenge messaging services as the chief revenue source for mobile data.
"There's a lot of experimentation going on now," explained Brian Greasley, chief executive at mobile games developer Digital Bridges, which publishes mobile versions of EA Sports titles like FIFA Soccer and Tiger Woods Pro Golf.
"The games industry is fantastic at eating bandwidth and 3G allows us to create 'fatter' content. All current mobile games are less than 100Kb in size. 3G allows 250-500Kb sized games which introduce better graphics, better streaming and better audio."
However, Greasley remains cautious about his 3G expansion plans for the company, saying that innovative working 3G content is still two or three years away. "It's not going to be mass market before then and I won't switch my research and development there until 3G is mass market."
The future is multimedia
Mobile music continues to be a hot topic for discussion within the industry. Just about everyone believes that offering music on a handset is a no-brainer. With the success of portable music players such as the Walkman or Apple's iPod, there is little reason why consumers will not love audio on their phones.
Microsoft has jumped onto this bandwagon already and has licensed parts of its Windows Media platform to Nokia for use in its phones. The Finnish handset manufacturer has also expanded its mobile media partnership with Microsoft rival Real Networks by announcing it will use Real's media platforms for its new online mobile music service Loudeye.
Lee Joseph, general manager for Real's mobile business in Europe, claims that his company saw the potential of 3G when it was building its internet business.
"We asked mobile operators why they were spending money on 3G licences and they told us it was because of video and audio streaming. We've proven that consumers are prepared to pay for digital music, we've consulted with operators and now we are building the eco-system," he said.
"The perfect mobile music service will be subscription-based, with music streamed to the device. Once higher download speeds arrive and digital rights management [DRM] improves, content owners will be able to tap into 'super distribution' of their content via mobile networks. The difference will be that with DRM, the content owner will retain control over it and be able to charge for repeated use."
Not just yet
For now, the real benefits of 3G remain a year or two away, both in terms of range and quality of service and also pricing and quality of coverage. Early adopters are likely to be the business community, and sales of 3G data cards for notebook computers are doing very well. This is all fine and good for business, but what about the mainstream consumer?
"3G provides a platform to enhance customer experience," said Hugh Griffith, head of data at O2. "It has been restricted by existing technology but richer multimedia content, in particular multi-player gaming, is now arriving. Over the next two years there will also be a big increase in content providers."
3G looks promising, much like a freshly bottled wine. You like the look of it and you're certain it'll taste good, but not until it's fully matured, so you leave it on the shelf for a few years till its ready. And in this spirit we say that today's 3G harvest has a bit of maturing to do, so don't break out your corkscrew just yet.