LONDON, INDIA: The European Mobile Industry is on the road to recovery from the economic downturn. Innovation and collaboration are crucial, paving the way for future industry developments.

According to Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, the next mobile experience responds to customers’ needs by offering not only communication but also a combination of entertainment, convergence, communication and applications in vertical markets.
 
The European mobile industry before the recession was at a turning point: the market needed to be redefined and new revenue sources were essential. The crisis exacerbated this situation and forced the industry to take up new initiatives and investigate new strategies.

After an immediate reaction to the crisis with cost reduction and resources optimization, the industry started looking increasingly at providing creative and innovative solutions to customers’ needs.  “Valuable business opportunities would come from market players’ collaboration. Resources optimization remains critical and increasing strategic partnerships can be extremely beneficial. This strong collaborative focus will make the life of the mobile industry easier in this final phase of the economic downturn,” states Saverio Romeo, Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst. In addition, he also believes that the proactive role of public ICT policies during the economic downturn has been positive for the industry.

The mobile market has already embarked on some valuable initiatives. The success of the iPhone and the Apple Apps Store launched a new model of delivering mobile content. This has fostered the development of new stores, and also several initiatives based on open innovation.

Another example is the mobile location services market. The market has evolved thanks to: the availability of non-GPS based positioning technologies, the rise of the mobile Internet, the success of mobile social networking, and the use of advertising as a revenue model. Context-aware social networking services are the most prominent result of this evolution. These services combine the concept of location with the concept of social networking in order to offer a variety of services designed around communities and their members.

Market participants are looking for solutions for optimizing costs without losing efficiency and customers’ satisfaction. Data analytical tools such Social Network Analysis are used to optimizing marketing campaigns, reducing churns and detecting fraud.

The European mobile industry is also fuelled by governmental initiatives and policies. National governments and the European Union recognized the market as the backbone of European economies. Therefore, the EU in the European Economic Recovery plan devoted €1bn for wireless and wired broadband. Other targeted initiatives are:  €18 million for LTE trials, promoting the adoption of e/m-healthcare, and also the promotion of mobile TV and multimedia content.
 
“The European Mobile Industry is slowly recovering from the economic downturn. Some initiatives and ideas have helped the industry and set the basis for future developments. However, the future landscape of the mobile market needs to evolve further towards several directions. The next mobile experience is not just communication, it is a combination of entertainment, convergence, communication and applications in vertical markets.” adds Romeo.