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Mobile Internet Market to Boom
(26 Jun 2008, BWCS Staff)The number of customers using mobile internet services is set to rise from the current level of 577 million to over 1.7 billion within five years, according to figures released by Juniper Research. According to the research company the growing demand will be driven by new collaborative applications, known collectively as web 2.0.
The US-based research outfit said it believes that mobile operators will face increasing competition from brands that have grown up on the web, such as Google and Yahoo and will have to adopt their strategies accordingly. This will encourage greater collaboration between mobile network owners and other companies along the value chain, Juniper argues.
Applications such as social networking, user-generated content, instant messaging and location-based services should, Juniper argues, emphasize the case for a more open environment in which users are able to share, collaborate and exploit content and information without any one party controlling content.
However, events such as Nokia's recent content acquisition spree seem to support the view that handset manufacturers, just as much as mobile operators, are keen to extend their control along the value chain.
According to Ian Chard, Juniper Research Analyst and author of the report Mobile web 2.0: Leveraging Location, IM, Social web and Search 2008-2013, "Major web players have already crossed the Rubicon and established themselves in the mobile domain, placing the onus on MNOs and other members of the value chain to form innovative relationships and grab a share of the new revenue streams being created."
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