Mobile products and services

Mobile broadband Internet is clearly experiencing a boom phase. But how exactly are mobile broadband Internet customers going to use all their bandwidth capacity, terminal devices and innovative software? To answer that question, this section examines mobile products, applications and services.

When asked about their priorities for mobile broadband Internet services, over half of all consumers surveyed assigned “high” or “very high” importance to mobile communication, for example mobile chats or e-mails. Another 43 percent said they would use mobile broadband Internet as a source of information, and 36 percent intended to use the technology for mobile shopping (Fig. 28). They were also already looking forward to other aspects of mobile broadband Internet such as mobile social networking and mobile content offerings. These will clearly grow in importance over the next few years, with the ongoing development and increasingly widespread use of mobile broadband Internet.

Fig. 28:		Use of mobile broadband Internet services (Consumers)

However, broadband Internet services cannot operate without the appropriate terminal devices. Most mobile content is highly complex, and cannot be satisfactorily delivered to many of the devices now in use. 90 percent of the experts surveyed therefore agreed that the next generation of mobile broadband-capable terminal devices would become established as the standard for mobile broadband Internet services. Conventional mobile phones would play a less important part in the future mobile broadband Internet market, they said.

When asked what kinds of applications these versatile devices would have to cope with, the experts assigned the highest priority to mobile entertainment (approx. 72 percent) and telematics services (approx. 53 percent), closely followed by mobile office applications for businesspeople and other innovative products for mobile social networking (see Fig. 29).

Fig. 29:		Mobile broadband Internet applications (Digital lifestyle experts)

Just 10 years ago no one would have dreamed of being able to watch a video or television program on a mobile phone. However, today’s technologies and applications make it possible for consumers to watch or listen to their preferred content with virtually no restrictions in terms of physical location. Access to television programs and a broadband Internet connection are now virtually synonymous.

The experts surveyed agreed that mobile information services would be a high priority in this context, with almost 95 percent of them seeing mobile information and news as an important or very important part of mobile TV content. Approximately 90 percent of them also saw a bright future for sports broadcasts. They were not particularly enthusiastic about the prospects for the mobile delivery of movies, game shows and shopping TV, however (Fig. 30).

Fig. 30:		Content categories for mobile IPTV (Broadband experts)

There appears to be a good chance that mobile TV will achieve a breakthrough in the German market. The success of this part of the innovative broadband Internet market will however be dependent on some critical factors. The experts highlighted the bandwidth capacities essential for problem-free viewing, and consumers would appear to agree. Around 70 percent of consumers said they would refrain from using mobile TV if the waiting times – which are dependent on the bandwidth – were too long. Another key consumer requirement consisted of high-quality, up-to-date content (Fig. 31).

Fig. 31:		Success factors for mobile IPTV (consumers)

Along with the excellent prospects for mobile entertainment content, the experts also see high potential for mobile telematics and navigation services. Conventional navigation devices are becoming cheaper and more advanced, leading to a growth in popularity. And now, mobile telephones are increasingly being used for navigation purposes. In this role, today’s phones can do much more than merely show drivers the shortest route to their destination. After assessing the potential of several types of application, the experts surveyed saw navigation functions as highly attractive (with over 90 percent agreement), and also identified outstanding potential for auxiliary service offerings (Fig. 32).

Fig. 32:		Potential for mobile navigation and telematics applications (Broadband experts)

Mobile technology is clearly the future of the broadband Internet in Germany. Mobile terminal devices are becoming more powerful, and a discerning clientele will be offered an increasingly wide and diverse range of content offerings. Only time will tell which types of mobile broadband Internet application will prevail in the marketplace. But digital technology is clearly playing an ever-greater part in our lives. The next chapter will highlight some of the specific trends characterizing this process.