The future of mobile messaging in Asia

It’s becoming unavoidable, everywhere you turn you’re hearing about, reading about, and most likely receiving more text messages than ever before. Nowhere is this more evident than in Asia where mobile messaging has seen greater growth than in many parts of the Western world. According toPortio Research, there will be an estimated 1.4 billion additional mobile phone users in Asia by 2012, and SMS revenue in the region will grow to US$22.7 billion in 2012.

Asia also leads the way in new frontiers of messaging like mobile advertising campaigns. Recent analysis from Frost & Sullivan finds that mobile advertising across thirteen Asia-Pac countries raked-in revenues of US$807.8 million in 2007 and expects this to reach a market size of over US$4 billion by end-2012, at a CAGR of 37.8 percent (2007-2012).
As with many parts of the world, mobile operators in Asia have also seen the rise of text voting which produces large spikes in messaging activity which needs to be carefully managed.
Consumers expect text and multimedia messages to arrive instantly as 80 percent of handsets are always switched on.
Ensuring this happens is no easy task; the question now is how can mobile operators handle explosions in messaging traffic and, if so, at what cost? Do they have the infrastructure in place to keep up with the volume, manage traffic efficiently and maintain subscriber loyalty?
Complicating the situation further is the fact that the mobile market in Asia varies tremendously from country to country. Whereas some regions have leapfrogged the West in deploying some
of the most advanced mobile networks in the world, others are in the early stages of their mobile evolution.
Understanding these complexities is key as operators not only need mobile messaging architectures and solutions which can manage mobile traffic both now and in the future, but they also need to ensure they do not waste the investment they have already made in developing infrastructures which are already in place.
Not content to offer the same-old, historical approach to managing messaging traffic, Airwide has
introduced a tiered approach to messaging services – a real world solution that’s taking off across Asia. By using tiers of functionality, Airwide aims to give operators the freedom to continue to leverage their existing infrastructure while enabling a modular evolution to next-generation messaging.
In moving away from an antiquated, silobased messaging infrastructure to a tiered, modular one, operators have a cheaper and more flexible way to manage their messaging and services.
This will allow operators to stay ahead of the influx in traffic, optimize their messaging revenue and ultimately maintain better subscriber loyalty. The tiers that should be in place to optimize messaging performance and keep capital and operational expenditures at a minimum are:

• Access and delivery – cost-effective capacity expansion, congestion management, intelligent routing and intercept point for enhanced services
• Control – connectivity management and policy enforcement for A2P and P2A messages, and control of 3rd party applications
• Storage – intelligent storage and retry for messages not immediately delivered
• Application – high-value combined messaging services incorporating network enablers, like personalization features for enhanced messaging.

Airwide’s tiered architecture aims to enable operators to independently scale any of these four tiers across the infrastructure to support SMS, MMS, IM, SIP and other forms of messaging without incurring the costs of over-buying capacity for any one service or infrastructure tier.
Recognizing that ARPU in Asia remains low (as does the per minute cost of calls and services), Airwide has built upon its experience working in some of the most demanding operator environments in the world to create solutions that can help mobile operators to tap into hidden
sources of revenue that might otherwise be unavailable. Using solutions for mobile advertising, customer care and others, Airwide unlocks the value of marketing data by orchestrating intelligent, subscriber specific promotions. Individual subscriber profiles and usage history can
be combined with disruptive mobile marketing tools and multi-channel adinsertion capabilities to form an integrated springboard for driving up service value and user loyalty through entirely new business models – personalization, targeted promotion, and advertising.
Airwide’s technology positions the company as a provider of:
Mobile Messaging – powering communities through innovative and converged solutions for SMS, MMS and Instant Messaging
Mobile Internet – unleashing the power of the next-generation Web by making the internet personal and interactive
Mobile Marketing – enabling operators and brands to make the most of the mobile channel
Mobile Security – protecting users from spam, viruses, floods and fraud.

Navteq predicts huge growth in Asian LBS

by Richard Handford @ MobileAsiaCongress Daily day3
LO C A T I O N - B A S E D SERVICES (LBS), such as personal navigation or mobile social networking, are set for an upsurge in demand inAsia, according toNavteq, a provider of digital mapping information to the mobile industry.
“We see a tremendous growth opportunity and are investing heavily against that opportunity,” said Aaron Dannenbring, Navteq’s director of product management, talking to Show Daily. India is already registering a lot of activity, he said.
The company has been busy gathering mapping data from across the Asian region, said Dannenbring. In the mobile industry, the company – which is owned by Nokia following its US$8.1 billion acquisition earlier this year – supplies the information it gathers to the Finnish company and other handset manufacturers, as well as mobile operators.
The Asian market is distinctive because growth is expected in the short term from location information accessed by mobile users rather than in cars. In contrast, the US and European markets grew through users accessing navigation data while driving. “Many people [in Asia] own mobile phones but not so many own cars,” said Dannenbring.

GSMA Mobile Asia Congress

by Justin Springham @ Mobile Asia Congress Daily day 1

THE KEY ROLE that new services are set to play in the growth of Asia’s mobile industry is the theme dominating this year’s GSMA Mobile Asia Congress, as the event returns to Macau after a successful first year here in 2007.
Under a headline banner of ‘Services for the new mobile era,’ this week’s Congress features CEO and Chairman keynotes from such major regional operators as China Mobile and China Unicom, NTT DoCoMo, SKT, KTF, Telenor, Bharti Airtel and Hutchison Telecommunications HK. The mobile service value chain will be fully represented, including keynote speakers from Huawei, Nokia and content providers Reliance BIG and EA Mobile.
These high-profile names will drill down into the major topics affecting development of Asia’s mobile industry, including the mobile broadband technology roadmap, how the mobile industry can help drive a sustainable future, and operator opportunities in mobile Internet.
Expect strategic debate in light of Asia’s status as a region at the forefront of global mobile service development.
Recent regional issues are also likely to shape industry discussion this week. Fuelled by the emergence of ‘non-traditional’ mobile players such as Apple and Google, the mobile industry is today at its most open and competitive stage in history. Meanwhile China is currently undergoing a restructuring that will forever change the shape of the world’s largest mobile market in time for the rollout of high-speed mobile broadband services.
Of particular topical relevance will be the role the mobile industry will play at a time of global economic uncertainty. “In the challenging economic environment, the mobile industry – which is investing almost US$150 billion annually – continues to be a powerful engine for private sector stimulation and economic growth,” said Craig Ehrlich, chairman of the GSMA.
In recognition of the strategic significance and growth of financial services and advertising on mobile, the final day of the conference (Thursday) will be dedicated to the analysis and development of these two focus areas. It will introduce major players from the advertising and financial sectors – including HSBC, Visa and Pepsico International – and conclude with a demonstration and networking session.
Elsewhere, tonight’s Gala Opening Party in The Venetian Ballroom is open to all event attendees, during which the winners of the GSMA’s Asia Mobile Awards will be announced.
This year’s Mobile Asia Congress also sees a record number of exhibitors – 185 – featured on the showfloor.
Event Platinum sponsor Telenor and Gold sponsor Nokia have provided their backing.