3GSM: Mobile industry focuses on internet, advertising

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The 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona has wrapped up, leaving some 55,000 exhausted customers, vendors and journalists in its wake.

If you didn't make the trip to Spain - or if you're still recovering from the sessions and 1,300 exhibitors - research firm Analysys has a run-down of the important trends to keep an eye on in the coming year.

"Old chestnuts keep cropping up," said principal analyst Windsor Holden, citing mobile television as a yearly 3GSM favourite. "But there's also increasing interest in mobile advertising, mobile search and user-generated content."

Mobile advertising is attracting interest, but operators are still not sure how to best monetise or what model to use. Holden said such advertising is not likely to become a primary source of revenue, but complementary. With interactive mobile services, the potential advertising market is small, but companies have an enormous amount of data on individuals, so targeted advertising is valuable.

Mobile search is another focus, and it's impossible to talk search without including Google. Tier one players are banding together in opposition to Google, Holden said, but they're not completely committed to this route. "They're of two minds what to do - oppose or partner," he said. "At the end of the day, the core competency of Google, its raison de être, is search. Operators are not entirely convinced it's best to set their investments against that."

User-generated content (UGC) is moving from the web to mobiles as well, Holden said. He cited Nokia's deal with YouTube as a sign of times to come. "What that's doing is missing operators out of the content loop," he said.

And, after years of talk, mobile TV is set to hit the mainstream, as soon as standards are sorted out. "You've still got a multitude of standards. It's almost like people sat on an edge of a cliff, waiting to see who's going to jump off and commit to a given standard," Holden said. "It's an awful lot of indecision and uncertainty. No one's willing to be the first."

"There's an awful lot of trialling going on, quite understandably," added Holden. As the investment is huge, companies must keep an eye on costs. He said the momentum is behind DVDH, especially T-Mobile and Orange, but noted that other operators are looking in different directions. Either way, Holden expects most operators will have committed to a standard by the end of the year, if not sooner.

Holden said all the areas noted - mobile television, advertising, search and UGC - will not fall by the wayside like some previous 3GSM darlings. "I'm convinced of it, it's just a ticking clock, a matter of time," he said.

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