The mobile has changed our lives: how we communicate, create, and consume; how we transact, and how we interact. This transformative trend will continue in future: we need to prepare for it.
Already today, we see that new high-speed networks, new devices, and new content have caused the mobile market to rocket. Last year, European mobile data traffic doubled; by next year it will almost double again; by 2016 it could reach three trillion megabytes per month. To put that in perspective: three trillion megabytes a month is forty times the size of global internet traffic in 2000, wireless and fixed.
And it’s not just the size of the demand that’s changing: it’s the nature too; demand for a more tailored and seamless service. Users want to be in control, with access to content any time, anywhere and on any device. This opens the gate to a new ocean of innovation, an ecosystem on top of which new services and business models can soar.
We are giving the consumer choice, new tools and new opportunities. A choice of networks and how they can pay to access them. A glittering range of new ways to use their smartphone, from interacting with distant friends or colleagues while waiting for a bus, to using it to buy their morning coffee. And ever newer devices to enjoy this content on – like the iPad which, let’s remember, did not even exist 2 years ago.
And we are helping lift Europe out of the economic crisis. We’re giving SMEs new tools to stay in contact while on the move. We’re stimulating whole new markets in digital creative content. We’re giving Europe a mobile broadband boost.
Today, the industry has the confidence to invest: and the incentives to innovate. Across Europe, we have already seen huge sums pouring into next generation mobile technology. That shows I am not the only one with faith in the future. But still, we aren’t yet keeping up with the pace set elsewhere: look at the USA, Asia, Latin America. And we should avoid the Euro crisis from denting our investment in the future. Here to read more.
