Vodafone chief executive Arun Sarin told this year\u2019s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona \u2014 the world\u2019s biggest telecommunications conference \u2014 that mobile Internet would define the future.<\/p>\n
Cellular operators need to adopt new, data-centric business models, simplify their pricing and creatively integrate broadband offerings or risk losing their customers and revenue, he added.<\/p>\n
In the main address at the conference, which attracted about 55000 visitors, Sarin said: \u201cOur industry is at an important crossroads. Operators need to invest to bring important mobile Internet services to life \u2026 we can\u2019t sit back and become bit pipes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert Conway, chief executive of the GSM Association, said: \u201cThe leading indicators show we have reached the tipping point with mobile broadband. We have the networks, we have the devices and we have the speed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarin agreed: \u201cCustomers want fast, wireless broadband. The new, new thing is Internet on the mobile.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that Vodafone, the world\u2019s biggest operator by revenue and a 50% shareholder in Vodacom, already has 21 million 3G subscribers and is looking at combinations of providing wired and wireless broadband.<\/p>\n
He said that the current HSDPA technology has been an excellent investment that has lived up to its promises where previous 3G technologies disappointed.<\/p>\n
Highlighting growth in emerging markets, Sarin said Vodafone\u2019s Indian operation was growing well, while South Africa experienced 15% growth. Vodafone\u2019s data revenue has increased 40% year on year, as call prices were dropping by 15% to 20% a year.<\/p>\n
Rick Stevenson, head of Samsung\u2019s US telecoms business, said mobile WiMAX would be a key driver this year, with 196 operators around the world running these networks, which use a super-fast wireless connectivity system that is backed by chip maker Intel.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWe\u2019re seeing a new business model. Operators are stepping away from the subsidy model. We\u2019re seeing WiMAX- embedded devices sold through consumer electronics retailers (directly to consumers).\u201d<\/p>\n
Nokia chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said a Village Connection system by Nokia Siemens Network aimed to get emerging markets online.<\/p>\n
These first-time users would experience cellphones and the Internet very differently from the first one billion, as new technology would give them much greater opportunities, he said.<\/p>\n