 | Issue: | Latin America II 2000 |
| Article no.: | 8 | |
| Topic: | Mobile Internet in Argentina | |
| Author: | Eduardo Griffa | |
| Title: | Vice President | |
| Organisation: | Marketing and Communications | |
| PDF size: | 20KB |
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Article abstract
The leading companies will be recognised for their ability to offer personalised services in which mobility will be one of the greatest benefits offered to customers. Aggressive marketing, innovative new services and packaged solutions in which content – for instance in the form of entertainment or information – is included in the offer are some of the methods that will be used in the battle to win customers.
Full Article
Globally the market is starting to recognise the potential of adding mobility to the world of Internet and e-Commerce. It is estimated that by 2004, there will be around one billion users of mobile telephony, and almost one billion users of the Internet worldwide. Further-more, an independent source, Allied Business Intelligence, anticipates that over the next five years, more than 600 million Internet-enabled mobile phones will be shipped. The vision of a future in which mobility is a central feature, and for which an entirely new business scenario demands innovative solutions, is a basic starting point for today’s business strategy. It is a strategy that takes as its starting point a company’s commitment to mobile communications – viewed from all perspectives – and it’s ability to offer innovative technology. Since applications are the basis for the development of the Mobile Internet market, one of our objectives at Ericsson is to stimulate the local industry in each market to develop innovative, truly relevant, applications for the mobile Internet. Enabling technology One of the most important developments for Mobile Internet services is the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). WAP, although it is being challenged by some, is currently the de facto world standard for wireless information and telephony services. Bluetooth is another technology that will play an important role. It provides a low-cost, low-power radio technology that allows mobile phones, PC’s, PDA’s, laptops, printers and other devices up to 10 meters apart to communicate without wires. For example, it allows payments of a vending machine purchase to be made from a mobile phone. Bluetooth technology will be a key enabler of the “wireless wallet.” Location based service will be a key application area. Location based services include such applications as: local news, advertisements, travel and weather information and mobile positioning systems that allows mobile devices, using existing unmodified hardware, to automatically determine their own geographical position. Finally, the evolution of third generation (3G) systems will provide wide-band and multimedia connections for all mobile standards, thereby making possible advanced, high bit-rate, services. This global trend in the Argentinean market Argentina is one of the most attractive markets in the Latin American region for the development of mobile Internet based communications and services. The communications sector has been booming the last couple of years and this trend promises to continue. Heavy investment has been made in the sector during the last few years. The infrastructure is modern; the fixed networks are 100% digitalised and coverage is nationwide and the wireless segment is increasingly competitive. Another characteristic of the Argentina communications market is the high penetration of cable TV. World-class companies, attracted by very highly interested end-users, companies, government and investors, aware of the tremendous potential of Internet related services in Argentina, are active players in this market. As in the rest of the world, mobile communication has shown spectacular growth in the last years. The number of subscribers, by the end of April this year was about 3.5 million, a penetration of approximately 10% of the total population. We estimate penetration will reach 35% to 40% by the year 2004. The Internet boom has definitely arrived in Argentina. In 1999 the annual growth rate was 50%. The same growth rate is expected for the year 2000. This high growth rate has drawn investment capital to local Internet Startups during the last couple of years. However, the penetration of the personal computer and the Internet in Argentina is still low compared to other regions. Mobile Internet In Argentina Based on the market projections and the scenario described above, we believe that the mobile Internet market will develop successfully in Argentina. Furthermore, the vast majority of the population will be introduced to on-line services and e-Commerce through the use of a mobile terminal and not by using the traditional Internet connected PC. The mobile Internet requires re-thinking traditional business logic. Now, the keys to success are local initiatives and innovations. The development of appropriate applications will be crucial for the growth of the mobile Internet market. The advantages of Mobile Internet access will only be perceived if users find available services useful and adapted to the local culture and needs. Examples of applications and services areas where we are beginning to see evidence of local initiatives are: text messaging, mobile banking and payment, information services mobile commerce, location dependent services and Internet access. The Mobile Internet Institute in Argentina Based upon the positive scenario for Mobile Internet development in Argentina, Ericsson opened its Mobile Internet Institute in June of this year. The Institute is aimed at promoting mobile Internet development in Argentina. The main objective with the institute is to promote the development of Argentina’s mobile Internet market by working with local partners. The Mobile Internet Institute will be under constant development, as new technologies become available. Today the Institute promotes WAP, Bluetooth, Mobile Positioning and 3rd generation infrastructure technologies (EDGE, GPRS & WCDMA) and provides the following services; o Development tools (API, SDK etc.). o Demo-centre and Test bed for application verification. o WAP academy: Today the academy can offer competence programmes for WAP- technology and advanced programming in WML. o Alliance programmes. Conclusion The Alliance programme is a forum for any businesses that wishes to work, together with Ericsson, in shaping the mobile world of the future. It gives the companies the opportunity to work at the frontier of the mobile Internet revolution, to benefit from our expertise and technology and to build mutually beneficial business relationships. The programme is available to any organisation involved in: o Developing software or hardware that runs on the mobile Internet infrastructure o Providing services available over the mobile internet infrastructure o University education involving mobile Internet technologies.
