The Open Mobile Summit: day one

This Day 1 summary comes via Open MobileMedia… Susan Kuchinskas cover the highlights of day one of the Open Mobile Summit 2014.

The biggest takeaway from Open Mobile Summit 2014 was how evolved and complex the ecosystem is – and how much value companies are deriving from the mobile channel. In fact, more and more companies are switching to a mobile-first strategy as they develop new offerings and services. Then, of course, there are an increasing number of mobile-only companies.

Mark Lowenstein, managing director of Mobile Ecosystem, kicked off day one of the summit by forecasting some big changes in the world of connectivity. As mobile network operators face more price competition than ever before, he said, they also face potential disruption from cable companies, the spread of WiFi as an alternative to cellular, and platform companies like Google.

But there’s plenty of opportunity in this shifting environment, as well, he said. Operators are turning into software providers and opening up APIs for third-party developers. As well, they can help connect devices on the internet of things including an increasing number of connected cars.

Wayne Ward, vice president of business and product development for Sprint, pointed out that, with all the focus on new mobile services like music and video, some of the core operator offerings could still use improvement, including conference calling and contact lists. Ward said, “There are still a lot of monetization opportunities for a better consumer experience in basic communications.”

Said Ashish Singh, vice president of products for SK Telecom Americas, “We’ve moved from ARPU to ARPE: average revenue per experience.”

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