The Mobile Internet World 2008 events will feature expanded and unparalleled conference programs covering the entire spectrum of business strategy, emerging technologies and best practices.

Learn More About our 2008 Event Series

Welcome to Yankee Group’s 2nd Annual Mobile Internet World

The era of the mobile internet is at hand.  The media and communications industries are in chaos. Traditional mobile operators are fighting disintermediation with convergence, while traditional media companies search for profitable and relevant business models in this new, mobile medium. Network operators and service providers of all kinds are competing to serve the next major frontier in computing — the mobile Internet user. The mobile Internet user will have ubiquitous access to computing and the internet at speeds equivalent to the minimum available on commercial wired broadband services in the local market.

Emerging mobile broadband technologies such as 3G, WiMAX and LTE will enable a mobilized Internet with ubiquitous connectivity.  In addition, IP architectures are becoming critical elements in the delivery of ubiquitous mobile broadband services. As these technologies migrate toward 4G, mobile Internet services will be delivered with increased performance capabilities, improved economics, high levels of security and accurate ways of measuring end-user activity. In the process, a completely new generation of business models, services and end-user applications are emerging.

What is the mobile Internet market opportunity?
Today, the wireless industry is failing to meet demand for mobile internet services. Money is being left on the table because service providers and their technology partners are not overcoming a wide range of barriers to adoption quickly enough. Some of these obstacles are technical and concern network capabilities. Some are caused by an inadequate marketing and packaging of services. Others concern usability and device performance, but they all produce the same results: Large numbers of consumers are still being denied affordable and reliable mobile access to the internet, and service providers are missing out on a huge revenue opportunity. 

If these inaccessibility factors were overcome, the global consumer mobile Internet services market today would be worth more than $66 billion per annum. Instead, it has reached only $9.5 billion.

The Mobile Internet Ecosystem

2008 promises to be a watershed year for the advancement of the mobile Internet marketplace.  The mobile Internet ecosystem has many different layers and sub-segments whose technology and business models offer a complex and integrally woven structure.  A simplistic diagram is offered in Exhibit 2 which depicts an environment from a technology perspective.

• Key 2007 announcements from chip manufacturers through the entire mobile Internet ecosystem chain promise that 2008 will begin to see significant improvements in mobile Internet user experiences and business models.
• Operators around the world have already begun building out mobile WiMAX and HSPDA high speed networks, promising open internet accessibility. 
• Silicon vendors have announced advanced multimedia chipsets capable of multimode functionality. 
• Device manufacturers have accelerated new types and forms of mobile internet devices, with a host of new features for advanced application and internet access functionality. 
• Software and search engines companies have accelerated their mobile search engine penetration with operators globally, delivering a multitude of new mobile web development platforms that enable new forms of services and applications for consumers around the world.
• Mobile web development standards are advancing making it easier for Enterprises to determine mobile web strategies.
• Mobile marketing and advertising strategies are beginning to take advantage of advanced mobile usage metrics, promising a major shift in branding, advertising and marketing opportunities.
• Financial institutions have begun to deploy mobile banking, payment and transaction applications that will enable the mobile Internet e-commerce marketplace.
• Governments around the world are advancing their regulatory policies which are enabling mobile operators to build the networks needed to enable the mobile Internet and accelerate its full potential.