Smart pipes

Mobile operators. Is their future bright or clouded? In the advent of VoIP are they going to be downgraded to the role of IP packet transport providers, aka “dumb pipes”? This is what is happening to the fixed telephone operators. The fixed guys experience a massive drop in voice revenue, yet they are able to compensate the loss with data services, mostly DSL lines. The long distance charges are disappearing, but again they can potentially be compensated by IPTV services, bringing the fixed line to a triple-play service (voice + data + television). All together the monthly bill you get from your fixed operator most likely remains the same as it used to be ten, or twenty years ago. What is different is what arrives through the line – it used to be just voice, then voice plus analog modem - based dialup data, then voice plus high speed DSL data, then voice plus data plus on-demand TV. Ultimately the standard voice service will probably disappear, leaving us with pure digital, high speed pipe with all services being delivered by means of IP packets.

Does the mobile future look the same? Of course ultimately we are going to end up with a high speed mobile, pure IP-based network. So in the mobile world, all the services will be delivered over-IP as well. So, in the long run, there is no advantage of being a mobile operator? Yes, there is. What are the items you carry with you most of the time? Some cash, a mobile phone and probably some credit cards. Three items. Wouldn’t you prefer just one? It is easy to imagine cash and credit cards merging into one smart wallet. In many countries this has already happened. I remember being in Iceland in 1993 and buying even newspapers with plastics… But how to merge a phone and a card? Well… I do not see how I could talk (or listen) to my credit card. It is more natural to use the phone as something you pay with, instead of a card you talk to… Anyway this merger process is underway as well. Premium voice and premium SMSes are already used to pay for some services (mostly entertainment services). You can get an access to a premium web page or pay your parking fee by sending an SMS. In Munich (Germany) you can rent a bike. The bikes are parked around the city, each having its own phone number. You “dial a bike”, it unlocks itself while putting a charge on your phone bill. Yes – converged bill. Isn’t it nice? Pay for taxis, restaurants, groceries and have them on your phone bill? Why not? If your phone becomes your cash / credit card, then your phone bill should be your universal bill. Imagine T-Mobile merging with Citibank. Isn’t it a natural fit?

In many developing countries this has already happened, like in Angola the mobile phone bill is already the only bill people get. And the credit rating with the mobile operator is the only rating available, as there are practically no banks… I strongly believe this trend will continue, as this is very natural way of progress. I simply want my phone or teleputer to be my universal wallet. And I want just one bill. And more, I want my bank that becomes my mobile company to authenticate me. They know almost all about me, so why wouldn’t they become a shared trusted root in an authentication scheme? I trust Citibank. Citibank knows me and trusts me. You trust Citibank. So when there is a potential transaction between you and me, you can trust me, provided Citibank tells you they trust me. Authentication services. That is what I would love to have provided from my mobile operator. Just imagine how many scenarios this enables. Almost any transaction in any business can be supervised by the federated authentication services of mobile operators. Car rental? The rental company turns the charge request to their mobile/bank company (BarclaysHutchinson?). BarclaysHutchinson turns to CiT-Mobile who then checks the rental fee against my credit limit, I get the confirmation prompt on my phone, enter my PIN to confirm, and the rental fee is added to my phone err... universal bill. Isn’t that natural? You bet… Same scenario with logging at the hotel or purchasing stocks or logging into your secure email account.

The mobile operators have wonderful technology in place to authenticate you. Be your universal electronic passport (something Microsoft tried to do a couple of years ago). Unfortunately most people do not trust Microsoft and the like. But they do trust their phones and they would feel secure accessing their accounts from any public internet kiosks, provided the authentication would run through their mobiles (pin entry) instead of having to punch a password on a keyboard with an unknown origin (with a possible keystroke logger inside…). Don’t know about yourself, but I would gladly shell a dollar or two a month, if my mobile company gave me that service.