Wireless or mobile internet will evolve if it is developed in conjunction with the wired internet as a combined entity, claimed Berg Insight in a new research report.
The key to combining these two platforms of web development web 2.0, the report said.
Web 2.0, according to Tim O’Reilly, the internet publishing mogul who coined the phrase, relies on data deployed through services rather than software and this model fits with the development of mobile internet quite well.
Services known as web 2.0 such as Google have translated particularly well into the mobile web sector, with services such as Gmail and Google Search adapting to the mobile platform while delivering the same content and usability that users have come to expect from the fixed or wired internet.
“The winners on the mobile web arena will be the players that give the users what they have come to expect from the internet”, said Sabine Ehlers, associate analyst, Berg Insight.
“This could be browsing, email, IM, media and networking with the addition of the differentiators of surfing-on-the-go – such as instantaneity, personalisation and GPS location”.
The report also goes on to pinpoint cost as well as ease of use as the main road blocks to the widespread uptake of mobile internet in the West.
Berg Insight suggested that if mobile operators introduce entry-level services with “sticky”, or high-pull factors, such as instant messaging or web browsing in a monthly fee then this would make the overall cost more attractive.
Other services defined as premium content, which takes up more bandwidth, could then be charged separately, it advised.
By Marie Boran
