Mobile networks stifling innovation

David Frith
17 November 2007

Well, actually, they’re also for checking email, listening to music, accessing the internet, taking and sharing photos and even watching television and video clips.

More and more handsets are coming with high-resolution multimedia displays that make watching television on the small screen at least bearable, and occasionally compelling.

You can fill idle time by checking the television news or weather, chortling over 'The Chasers' or made-for-mobile sitcoms, catching a few overs of the cricket or a lap or two of the V8 Supercars, running through a few movie trailers or downloading maps and directions.

But here’s the rub: Australia’s mobile networks such as Telstra, Optus, Hutchison and Vodafone, are stifling innovation by restricting access to multimedia content.

That’s the finding of a recent meeting of 24 executives from the Australian media industry, arranged by Ericsson Australia.

The telecoms giant had called together representatives from News Limited (publisher of The Australian), Fairfax, other print publishers and all the major television and radio players to discuss multimedia issues. Its biggest concern was restricted access to multimedia content on mobiles. More than 50% agreed this was blocking innovation and needed to be fixed pronto.

Take sport, for instance. If you want to watch rugby, you need to sign up with Vodafone. If it’s Test cricket you want to see, you need a Hutchison 3 handset and subscription. If you want to watch all sports and a bit of telly on the small screen, you need four phones, or at least four SIM cards, which you have to keep swapping. This is crazy.

The Aussie media executives who were at Ericsson’s forum want the network operators get together with content providers and phone makers to devise a collaborative open access system.

“The barriers need to be lowered,” says Sarah Phan, marketing manager, Ericsson.

She’s right. The demand for more open access to all kinds of material will only grow as a new generation of high-resolution multimedia phones, including Apple’s iPhone and new models that use software from Google called Android hit the Australian market next year.

Things could also change as the industry swings toward a revenue model based on mobile advertising. That might even persuade the networks to cut their stiff monthly fees - but Doubleclick advises against holding your breath.