Mobile Gaming Provides Important Opportunities for Network Operators

Newsletters

Content

- Articles
- Columns
- Training
- Library
- Glossary

Career Center

- Career Center Home
- View Jobs
- Post A Job
- Resumes/CVs
- Resource Center

Marketplace

- Marketplace Home
- Software Products
- Wireless Market Data
- Technical Books

News

- Daily News
- Submit News
- Events Calendar
- Unsubscribe
- Delivery Options

Community

- Discussion Boards
- Mailing List
- Mailing List Archives

About Us

- About WirelessDevNet
- Wireless Source Disks
- Partners
- About MindSites Group
- Advertising Information

Wireless Developer Network - Daily News

Mobile Gaming Provides Important Opportunities for Network Operators

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jul 3, 2002 - With mobile voice services becoming increasingly commoditized, network operators are turning to mobile data-related offerings to boost falling revenues. Gaming will be a key part of that strategy.

By attracting a huge pool of customers and driving up network traffic, gaming promises to raise profits and should become a mainstay of operators' plans.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan ( www.wireless.frost.com ), World Mobile Gaming Markets, reveals that this industry generated revenues totaling $436.4 million in 2001. Steady growth for messaging-based, web-based and downloadable mobile gaming could push total revenues to $9.34 billion in 2008.

Before this sector can realize its full potential, market participants will have to implement micro-billing systems. As consumers are apprehensive about making over-the-air payments with credit cards for mobile services, network operators will need to use billing-on-behalf-of-others (BOBO) techniques to collect revenues for content providers.

"Most network operators in North America and Europe will have to work hard to implement micro-billing systems for third-party content," says Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Kshitij Moghe. "Although they recognize the importance of the BOBO model, few had the mechanism in place at the end of 2001."

Until these secure systems are installed, consumers are likely to stay away from mobile gaming. Naturally, operators will have to convince them to pay to play.

"Network operators will face an uphill challenge in getting consumers to pay for premium mobile content such as games," says Moghe. "The Internet model of free content has become well engraved in consumer attitudes, especially in North America."

Many Internet content providers have shown how difficult it can be to persuade users to pay for information and entertainment services. The question is whether mobile operators will fare any better.

Since the launch of the mobile Internet, network operators have given away content for free, requiring customers to pay only for airtime. To convince users to pay for content, operators will have to make it compelling and facilitate easy billing.

Frost & Sullivan will hold a conference call at 1 p.m. (EDT)/10 a.m. (PDT) on July 10, 2002 to provide manufacturers, end-users and other industry participants an overview, summary, challenges and latest coverage on World Mobile Gaming Markets. Those interested in participating in the call should send an email to Dustin McVey at dmcvey@frost.com with the following information for registration:

Full name, Company Name, Title, Contact Tel Number, Contact Fax Number, Email. Upon receipt of the above information, a confirmation/pass code for the live briefing will be emailed to you.

Frost & Sullivan is a global leader in strategic market consulting and training. This ongoing research is part of the Next Generation Mobile Communications Subscription, which also includes market analyses on U.S. Mobile Internet Access Markets and U.S. Mobile Messaging Markets. Frost & Sullivan also offers custom consulting to a variety of national and international companies. Executive summaries and interviews are available to the press.

Sponsors