Handset, meet soda machine

The possibility of purchasing anything with one's mobile phone is currently being hyped on TV. A neat idea, but it will require some changes in the devices as well as in how billing is handled.

First up is enabling handsets and other mobile devices with the power to talk to the machines that take our money.

For this, we should turn to Bluetooth, a specification that sets up short-range connections between devices and the Internet, says Andrew Cole, head of the global wireless practice at Adventis.

Cole lists this type of connectivity as one of the keys to mobile commerce's future."You need to have Bluetooth-enabled devices: cash registers, Coke machines, handsets," he says.

If devices do start getting Bluetooth, another question arises: How will people actually pay for the goods? If they use their handset to make a purchase from a soda machine, will they be billed 50cent by Coke?

Most likely not.

According to a report from KPMG, there are two possibilities: All purchases could be billed to the credit card in a consumer's e-wallet (see sidebar on page 40) or to the consumer's mobile phone bill.

The latter option is a mixed bag for carriers. Billing every transaction executed on their network could open a whole new realm of troubles for an industry in which billing is already a serious issue.

It could actually be a boon for carriers, though, many of whom are trying to negotiate a piece of these transactions. If charges for the merchandise show up on their bill, carriers could more easily claim a piece of the pie.