1. Mobile Internet: why it matters for business
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After years of false dawns, mobile Internet is reaching a critical mass that means it has to be taken seriously. Irish businesses need to look at what’s happening, see how it relates to them and develop their mobile internet strategy. Here’s why:
- Over 800,000 people in Ireland have accessed the Internet on their phones
- Mobile broadband subscriptions now number more than 350,000
Mobile operator 3 reports that 43% of mobile internet usage on its network is going to just two sites – Facebook and Bebo. Other top destinations are Google, YouTube and RTÉ. Other reports cite a broad range of services being used, including financial
services, eCommerce and location-related services such as maps and route planning.
The mobile Internet has even given rise to a new type of application, “mobile augmented realilty” (MAR). This means mobile internet applications that tell users more about the world around them by using the location of the phone, and the view from its camera to query online databases.
They can then deliver very specific local information, for example which apartments in the block in front of the user are for rent – plus the details of each one, the rent being asked and the landlord’s contact details. Other MAR applications could give you directions to the nearest ATM, or deliver tourist information about the building the camera is pointed at.
So what does the rise of a mobile internet generation mean for business? It means mobile sites are much more important. Leading Irish publishers that have already launched mobile versions of their sites include RTÉ, Boards.ie and Daft.ie. Increasingly, there will be “m.” versions of sites alongside the www. ones.
Mobile Internet is a distinctive channel for marketing and communications – no longer limited to those who have a computer and happen to be in front of it. Messages can be tailored by the user’s location – allowing very focused campaigns for businesses that are close by. From special offer mobile coupons to health or safety alerts, the mobile Internet will bring digital advertising into a different league. And it will provide the tracking and accountability that many traditional advertising channels lack.
With opportunities come risks that need to be managed. For instance, the element of location tracking – and the fact that mobile phones are so personal to people – raises many privacy concerns. Businesses will have to take mobile user privacy seriously.
For digital content, customer service, education and all sorts of other applications, widely used mobile Internet changes the game. Google agrees. Its CEO Eric Schmidt has said: “Mobile will be a larger business than the PC-Web” (for Google advertising).
The message for businesses? Start planning now for mobile Internet.
Back to contents of State of the Net issue 14
