Mobile TV and Mobile Broadband
A growing number of countries are eagerly pursuing the mobile TV market, with ten licences provided in France alone. However, so far no one has been able to come up with a good business model. In Australia these plans have been abandoned for a similar reason. It will be interesting to see if France can make mobile TV viable, but BuddeComm is very doubtful about it a possible success.
By contrast, there is an explosion of mobile broadband taking place in 2008. This is driven by competition, which of course is much better embedded in the mobile market than in the fixed market. Telenor, the key second-tier player in the mobile market in Sweden, is a good example of this development. Competition has driven the price of unlimited data caps down from SEK560 ($93) to SEK199 ($33). This saw the market for mobile broadband grow from 50,000 in 2007 to 350,000 subscribers in 2008.
Currently, high-end mobile data services represent complementary revenue for the mobile operators. However, it is expected that over time this will balance out when the mass market starts to kick in, by which time this revenue will change from being complimentary to being a substitute.
Please join me on the 24th of July at the BuddeComm Roundtable in Sydney. Theme: The Rapidly Emerging Mobile Media Market
For bookings and information see: http://www.budde.com.au/Conferences/Roundtables_with_Paul_Budde/Roundtables.aspx