It's All About Apps

The catch phrases "cost-effective" and "quick roll-out" were popular at Supercomm 2000. With competition driving downrates, wireless providers are under pressure to offer new services that will differentiate them from competitors. Also, the economics of intense competition and new possibilities created by the Internet are propelling providers toward unique services that can be deployed quickly and at low cost.

Vendors responded with a plethora of Web-based products, from consumer to enterprise applications. Several vendors also promoted a new business model: application service providers, which deliver software applications to various entities at once. By leasing access to applications, providers can deliver services without incurring an up-front license fee or the costs of building a support infrastructure for the applications. ASPs also provide technical expertise, which remains expensive and in short supply.

Companies such as Davinci Technologies, which provides Web-based customer-service solutions, wireless applications and electronic bill-presentment and -payment (EBPP) products, offer programs that use both the licensing and ASP models. Steve Rodin, Davinci president, said that one perk of the ASP model is that it provides centralized information, which is easier for companies to manage than multiple locations.

Rodin also said that Davinci's product lets providers offer cost-effective mobile customer-care solutions and give customers anytime, anywhere Internet access to their accounts. Davinci's EBPP product also lets customers create profiles that control the services they use.

EDS, meanwhile, partnered with Hewlett-Packard to provide an Internet messaging application and with EMC to deliver data-storage-and-management services using an ASP model. The services, to be provided from EDS Web Service Management Centers, will be rented to providers on a monthly basis and will be available to end-users around the clock.

Ericsson's approach has been to invest in ASPs such as Oz, said Russ Sharer, Ericsson vice president of the data backbone and optical networks division. Oz hosts mobile Internet applications, including electronic commerce, mobile e-mail messaging, network management and m-commerce, with a suite of applications known as mPresence. The company says that the suite lets providers launch branded mobile Internet services in a matter of days.

Sharer said Ericsson will continue to support ASPs to encourage the development of new mobile services.

"Stimulating applications stimulate demand," said Sharer, adding that the increased demand improves Ericsson's business.

Others in the industry agree with Sharer's assessment of the importance of new applications to the future of wireless data.

"Next year we'll see more mobile than fixed Internet users," said Bo Hedfors, Motorola executive vice president. "Our road to 3G is all about applications."