Information Policy

Mobile ads ignored by most consumers

Businesses looking to target their audience with mobile marketing are more likely to succeed with new media marketing strategies than display advertising, according to a recent report from AYTM Market Research.

In a survey of 400 consumers, the company found that 46.8 percent said mobile ads of any kind are “annoying” and 27.3 percent said they are “intrusive.” Moreover, 42.9 percent reported that they’ve never clicked on a mobile ad on purpose. As such, it can be difficult to appeal to the rapidly growing mobile audience.

However, using new media marketing, businesses can appeal to mobile users as they would on desktop or laptops computers. Social media marketing, for example, is one of the most popular categories of smartphone and tablet applications. These campaigns can reach mobile audiences as effectively as many other campaigns.

Similarly, mobile search’s growth means that SEO campaigns are effective in targeting prospects browsing the web from their smartphones and tablets.

Brafton recently reported that mobile search is especially strong for targeting convertible audiences. Mobile SEO campaigns result in a 7 percent click-through rate, compared to 0.6 percent for mobile display ads.

http://www.brafton.com/news/mobile-ads-ignored-by-most-consumers

Tele2, Telia line up ‘Europe’s first LTE smartphone’

Korean equipment manufacturer Samsung has revealed that the launch of Europe’s first commercial Long Term Evolution (LTE) handset, the Android 2.3-based Samsung Galaxy S II LTE, is imminent on Swedish 4G mobile broadband networks. Tele2 Sweden will be the first operator to offer customers the 4G phone, followed by TeliaSonera (Telia), according to Techworld.com. TeleGeography notes that commercial LTE handset launches are also expected by around next month in Germany.

http://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2012/02/17/tele2-telia-line-up-europes-first-lte-smartphone/

Romania prepares for MVNO services

The Romanian regulator ANCOM has presented draft guidelines on the activities of mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) in the country’s electronic communications market. They could pave the way for companies such as UPC to enter the mobile sector, where its strongest competitors RCS&RDS and Romtelecom, along with Cosmote, Orange and Vodafone, already have a presence. According to ANCOM, “the draft guidelines have been drawn up in accordance with the European legislation, based on analysis of the provision of mobile virtual networks in the national electronic communications market, as well as on the results of a consultation with the industry, conducted in 2011.” They detail “the requirements to be met when entering the market, as well as during the activity of those providers willing to offer mobile electronic communications services by means of accessing another operator’s network”.

European Commission welcomes step forward for wireless broadband with adoption of Radio Spectrum Policy Programme

Radio spectrum supports 3.5 million jobs and more than €250 billion of economic activity each year in Europe, including incredibly popular services such as wireless broadband. The Commission therefore welcomes the European Parliament's adoption of the five-year Radio Spectrum Policy Programme (RSPP) which will allow sufficient spectrum to be made available for wireless applications and services such as high speed 4th generation (4G) wireless broadband. The RSPP also supports entertainment/culture (mobile TV or wireless electronic books), transport systems, health (such as medical appliances and devices to assist disabled persons), research, civil protection, the environment and energy (including smart energy grids and smart metering systems), without affecting the requirements of other policies such as defence.

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/12/141&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

M-Government: Mobile Technologies for Responsive Governments and Connected Societies (ITU, OECD 2011)

Mobile phones subscriptions have outnumbered Internet connections in both developed and developing countries, and mobile cellular is becoming the most rapidly adopted technology in history and the most popular and widespread personal technology in the world. Access to mobile networks is available to 90% of the world population, and to 80 % of the population living in rural areas, according to ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators database; and among OECD countries mobile subscriptions grew at a compounded annual growth rate of 10 % over the previous two years according to the OECD Communications Outlook 2009.

 

Given this unparalleled advancement of mobile communication technologies, governments are turning to m-government to realize the value of mobile technologies for responsive governance and measurable improvements to social and economic development, service delivery, operational efficiencies and active citizen engagement. The interoperability of mobile applications, which support quick access to integrated data and location-based services, paves indeed the way for innovative public sector governance models - also called mobile governance or m-governance - based on the use of mobile technology in support of public services and information delivery.

The report highlights the critical potential of mobile technologies for improved public governance, as well as for economic and social progress towards the achievement of the internationally agreed development agenda defined in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The in-depth analysis of the prerequisites for m-government, its main benefits and challenges, the value-chain and the key stakeholders, and the checklist of concrete actions intend to sustain policy makers in monitoring and updating their knowledge on m-government, and to draw on its implications for public sector governance, public service delivery, and smarter and more open government.

Whether it is an electronic wallet card linked to a mobile phone in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, or the Philippines; voting, registration or election monitoring in Morocco, Kenya, Estonia and Ukraine; support for farmers with weather forecast information and market price alerts in Malaysia, Uganda, India and China; or co-ordination of real-time location data for emergency response in Turkey, the United States and France, mobile technologies are enhancing dynamic interactions between citizens and government, creating further opportunities for open and transparent government.

“M-Government: Mobile Technologies for Responsive Governments and Connected Societies” is a unique report as it is the result of the joint-work of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). Recognising the ubiquity of public good governance principles, and the existence of opportunities and challenges commonly shared by governments worldwide, the three organisations aim to offer a call for action to all member countries to be strategic in moving ahead in implementing m-visions that drive public sector change and strengthen its good governance.

http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/cyb/app/m-gov.html

Hungary Moving Back Into Telecommunications Sector

By KEVIN J. O'BRIEN

BERLIN — Since Europe deregulated its telecommunications industry in 1998, most E.U. governments have gotten out of the business. Britain unloaded BT, for example, the Netherlands ditched KPN and Spain sold Telefónica.

But Hungary is going in the other direction. The country, an E.U. member already under fire for laws restricting media freedom and the independence of its central bank, is seeking to get back into the mobile phone business as a telecommunications operator.

The Hungarian telecommunications regulator is poised to award a mobile phone operator’s license to a consortium of three state-owned companies in an auction that ends Jan. 31.

The move has angered the three existing telecommunications operators — Magyar Telekom, the former monopoly that is 59 percent owned by Deutsche Telekom; Telenor Hungary, a unit of the Norwegian operator; and Vodafone Hungary. These operators fear the creation of a formidable rival that will upset what has been a relatively stable market.

Representatives for the operators declined to comment publicly, citing the Hungarian government’s ban on public communication before the results are announced. But two people close to the operators with knowledge of their plans said the private carriers were wary of the government’s actions.

More:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/technology/hungary-moving-back-into-telecommunications-sector.html

Google performance drives mobile estimate to $2.6 billion

Google's "exceptional" mobile advertising and new data has prompted eMarketer to revise its 2012 estimate for mobile advertising spending upward, from $1.8 billion to $2.61 billion. Google has already come to dominate the field, capturing 51.7% of mobile revenue, far ahead of Apple's 6.3% share. The competition is tighter in the area of mobile display, with Google at 24.8%, Apple at 18% and Millennial Media at 17.7%.

http://paidcontent.org/article/419-2012-mobile-ad-spend-revised-up-to-2.6-billion-google-fueling-the-machi/

Ukrtelecom reaches 790,000 3G mobile subscribers at year-end

Ukraine’s Ukrtelecom reports that its 3G mobile subscriber base increased in December 2011 by 4.5% or 34,000 users, to reach 790,200 active SIMs as of 1 January 2012. As reported by CommsUpdate, Ukrtelecom is in the process of selecting a buyer for its W-CDMA/HSPA-based cellular operations, after accepting second-round bid proposals up to a deadline of 25 November 2011. In September Ukrtelecom announced it was transferring all assets of its mobile business from its internal Utel division into a newly formed company, TriMob, for sale, effective from 1 January.

http://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2012/01/25/ukrtelecom-reaches-790000-3g-mobile-subscribers-at-year-end/

Megacom launches 3G network in Bishkek

Kyrgyz mobile operator Megacom has announced the commercial launch of its third-generation wireless network, offering services such as videocalling, mobile TV and high speed mobile broadband. Services are initially available in the capital Bishkek, but the company plans to expand 3G network coverage to Kant, Tokmok and Kara-Balta in Chuy province by March 2012, with other regions, including Naryn, to follow later in the year.

http://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2012/01/18/megacom-launches-3g-network-in-bishkek/

Giraffe sticks neck out in WiMAX market

Ukraine’s Intellecom has revealed that its consumer WiMAX broadband internet service, ‘Giraffe’, reached coverage of six of the country’s largest cities at the end of 2011. The ISP told TeleGeography that its WiMAX services are now available in the capital Kiev, as well as Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporozhye in the east, and Odessa in southern Ukraine. Services are mainly aimed at residential subscribers, while a marketing representative said that the rollout of Giraffe’s coverage is still in progress, with more cities to be added to the footprint in the first quarter of 2012 as part of nationwide rollout plan. TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database notes that Intellecom (standing for ‘Intellectual communications’) launched its WiMAX wireless broadband services in Kiev in May 2010, operating an 802.16e-based network in the 2.3GHz-2.4GHz frequency spectrum under a national licence issued in April 2009. It subsequently extended coverage to the entire capital while expanding to Kharkiv the following month. In September 2010 Intellecom signed an equipment contract with Samsung under a plan to expand Giraffe WiMAX nationwide by 2013. Intellecom is controlled by VTEL Holdings Limited, which is registered in the United Arab Emirates and operates in the CIS, African, and South American markets.

http://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2012/01/16/giraffe-sticks-neck-out-in-wimax-market/