Justin Lello, CEO, Enrich Mobile
When 3G was first launched in 2003 many people rushed to sign up for the goals, gambling and for the politically incorrect, girls, that Hutchison had promised us, not to mention the video calling.
Unfortunately what we, the early adopters got, was a great sense that we were very very Gullible!
The handsets were awful (yes I am talking to you NEC clamshell), the network virtually non-existent, and the improvement and increase in mobile services just not there!
Well what that’s coming over the hill? It’s 4G, or LTE for the purists. Frankly I am seriously excited about it as to what it means for the mobile media industry.
Super-fast download speed means that consumers will be able to enjoy the most immersive mobile rich media environment to date. Films, games, TV programmes and music will all be available in a way that was impossible three years ago.
And that is good news for operators too of course. Greater network speeds means more data revenue at a time when the profits from voice calls continue to decline.
In fact, spare a thought for the operators. A radical thought I know but we the consumer seem to forget that those odd shaped aerials that have popped up all over country in the last 25 years cost a fortune to develop, build, purchase, install and maintain. Throw in the spectrum license auction costs and you have mighty big bill just to build a next generation network.
But for me as a mobile evangelist, the opportunity for advertising and marketing industry is massive. The screen in your pocket will be, I think, the most important marketing medium developed to date.
Smart TV is a nice idea if you are sitting in your front room but the mobile media industry has to deliver a truly rich media experience regardless of you location. The portability and power of the new devices such as the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3 will allow the mobile media pioneers the opportunity to finally roll out technology that will give users the chance to decide how and when they consume marketing messages.
And that means the industry has to listen. Clumsy social media interaction needs to be banished. Tap-to-video and Augmented Reality will give consumers real reasons to have the handsets and tablets ready at all times and allow brands to add value and engagement.
4G gives the mobile industry a chance to innovate. We have to question the way we have attempted to promote brands, products and services in the past. 4G should make, pop ups, sidebars and hotlinks redundant. The industry must replace them with far more interactive appropriately targeted techniques.
Oh yes, but whisper it quietly but 4G will also finally be the making of location based services. So only 10 years late then!
