Mobile internet: shaping the digital economic life

Mobile Internet is bound to change the way people live and think. The most important significance of Mobile Internet is that it releases the information confined to one website to the space-time. In the case of wired Internet, the user looks for the network and surfs on it, so the individual is restricted by the the network nodes. In the case of mobile Internet, it's quite an opposite picture with the network after the user, realizing the wish of "mobile and interconnection".
The services developed on the basis of the mobile Internet enjoy the advantages of individualization, practicability, and high flexibility in time and space, which are uniquely appealing and will consequently create a large market.
Firstly, mobile Internet service creates one brand-new individualization service concept and commercial operation model, i.e. tailoring multiple different pieces of information according to the different preferences and needs of different subscriber groups and individuals, and sending them to the subscribers anytime and anywhere. The terminal subscribers have free and full control over the contents, time and mode of the services they enjoy, achieving the individualized services completely.
Secondly, compared to its fixed counterpart, mobile Internet is more flexible, convenient and effective. The mobile terminal is small in volume and is easy to carry as a result. The subscribers can take various actions such as purchase, transaction, inquiry, decision-making and communication. Combined with the security agreements on Internet such as electronic signature and authentication, the security and privacy functions that mobile communication technology possesses can provide the subscribers with security guarantee for the services. This unique feature can help people arrange their work and life more effectively.
In addition, it has always been a dream that people pursue to be free from the restriction of time and space. At present, mobile Internet has achieved, to a great extent, the dispatch of social resources in a more free manner and in a larger area, with a faster and more convenient flow of social resources. The enormous energy released by this change is bound to influence every aspect of needs of the people in the digital life in the future information society and furthermore brings forth more and more opportunities and wealth in snowball effect.
Mobile Internet Services and Customer Groups
The terminal can be so small as to be put on the palm, and mobile communication can be so cheap as to be affordable by everyone. Mobile Internet is in no way the simple extension of fixed Internet in the wireless field and nor is mobile Internet service the simple extension of fixed Internet service in the wireless field. Those two differ greatly both in terms of object served and development mode. While mobile Internet inherits the dual endowments and essences of mobile communication and Internet, it is also one sunrise industry with its own unique features. It is estimated by the industry circle that the mobile Internet services will exceed mobile voice services in volume worldwide by the end of 2003, and the number of mobile Internet subscribers will exceed that of fixed mobile Internet subscribers by the end of 2005. Therefore, it is the precondition and necessary step for fostering and developing mobile Internet market to subdivide the types of mobile Internet and the customer groups.
Mobile internet services can be broken down into 6 types according to the provision mode and information contents:
1) Mobile public information - includes the life information to serve the public universally, regional advertising, emergency call, legal tracking, etc., which can help boost the popularity of mobile Internet and build up public service branding for the operators.
2) Mobile personal information - includes on-line surfing, mobile E-mail, city navigation, mobile security (information), mobile banking (information), personal assistant, etc. This type is personalized service, which will address an enormous potential market. To individual subscribers, the inertial of the consumption custom and consumption psychology is still "to get as much as what they pay". Therefore, the services that appeal to the individual subscriber should be differential, individualized, and diversified.
3) Mobile E-commerce - includes mobile security (transaction), mobile banking (transaction), mobile shopping, mobile reservation, mobile auction, mobile on-line payment, etc. This type of service has a bright prospect, which will be the new point of growth in profit for the mobile operators.
4) Mobile entertainment service - includes various mobile games, mobile ICQ, and mobile electronic pets. The operators can lure new customers by this type of service, extending the services of the fixed netizen to the mobile network.
5) Mobile Enterprise VPN - lies in the mobile office of the enterprise subscribers. Once the security problem is solved, this type of service will see a vast development, which can help the enterprise enhance efficiency as well as bring the operators with large amount of stable profit.
6) Mobile operation mode - includes mobile pre-paid and mobile Internet portal services. In strict sense, it is the flexible operation mode provided for the operators to develop theirs services. The higher-layer services developed based on this operation mode can meet the needs of subscribers at different levels in every aspects, so as to reduce the operating risk of the operators and ensure the operating profit.
Mobile Internet subscribers can be broadly broken down into the two categories of enterprise subscribers and individual subscribers. The development of the subscriber market is affected by factors such as population, economic development level, and culture and customs of various countries.
Enterprise subscriber: Who mainly reside in the industrial areas of government, finance, technology, industry and service industry. Although it only accounts for a small proportion of the total subscriber number, the volume of services is very considerable. Therefore, it is a market space that the operators should pay keen attention to and devote major efforts to develop. The enterprise subscribers vary in their usage of and needs for mobile Internet services according to their industry. The operators should focus on those industries with high flexibilities, large numbers of subscribers and high utilization ratio of data. As the surveys show, the enterprise subscribers' expectations of the mobile Internet mainly include intra-enterprise E-MAIL, automation of sales force, data analysis, instruction entry, product information, etc.
Individual subscriber: Who account for most of the subscriber base and involves every class in the society.
Mobile Internet is gradually finding its way into everyday life. Subscribers will soon be able to access mobile Internet with devices such as their radio telephones, wireless PDAs and pagers, to acquire numerous services and applications. Mobile Internet is leading people to digital economic life with its unique and endless appeal, becoming the new vogue for the information society.