The Wholesale Mobile Network is Not Dumb

Earlier last week, Connected Planet reported a new Mobile Network planned to launch in the US later this year.  Backed by Harbinger Capital Partners, the new network, named Light Squared, will be 100% open, allowing VoIP, streaming video, peer-to-peer applications and any other conceivable service over both satellite and 4G.

Such is the power, potential and at present, poor capacity of Mobile Wireless that Light Squared can raise US$ 4.6 billion to build-out a high-speed 4G mobile data network.

So, who are Light Squared customers? According to CMO Frank Boulben, the new operator will target a mix of:

“National and regional wireless, wireline and cable operators; retailers;  device-makers; and Web-content providers…. We’ll have no gatekeeping rules on our network.”

It’s extremely significant that Light Squared will be open to all comers. For the Morodo Team, this is the next logical step in network evolution, bringing true competitiveness and a level playing field to the wireless world. There is no need for the network operator to ‘own’ the end-user in order to run a profitable business. We expect to see this business model become more popular as struggling networks consolidate to survive.

Elsewhere in the news, Juniper Research released a widely published report predicting sharp growth in Mobile App downloads. If you missed the headline, Juniper state that we can expect 25 billion downloads in 2015. That might seem like a big number but given the current global subscriber base in 2010, it only accounts for 5 downloads per mobile.  We think they might be rather cautious in their forecast.

The report noted that “freemium” is becoming the prevalent business model in mobile app distribution. That is, you give the app away and monetise it through service usage. That’s the model that Morodo has been expounding for some years.

Without a doubt, the consumer’s understanding of a downloadable mobile app is far more sophisticated today than it has ever been.