Mobile Media

Berlin treads new paths with mobile phone value-added services

Non-voice amount at turnover in mobile communication in Germany

Telecommunication in Berlin and Brandenburg

Loomes

BerlinNet

Versatel Deutschland

Tele Columbus

E-Plus Mobilfunk

Deutsche Telekom

Teles

The »Oscar« of the web industry, the »Webby Award« goes to Berlin. The mobile social network »Aka-Aki« didn't just convince the jury, it also won the »Webby« audience award. »Nominees like aka-aki are setting the standard for innovation and creativity on the Internet,« said David-Michel Davies, executive director of the Webby Awards. »It is an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the nearly 10,000 entries we received this year.« »Former winners include the biggest names on the Internet. This is a big success and great honour for our young company,« said Stefanie Hoffmann, CEO of Aka-Aki.

By installing a special programme on a mobile telephone, it is now possible to recognise other members of the »Aka-Aki« network and to call up information on them which is stored on the internet site. Added value services began more simple - and with a joke: On 3 December 1992 the former British Vodafone CEO was absolutely flabbergasted when he saw 15 characters pop up on his mobile telephone. Software technician Neil Papworth had sent him the message »Merry Christmas« from his PC, transmitted on the signals channel for dialling phone calls. This marked the birth of the first mobile telephone added value service with the three magic letters SMS. Since then, mobile telephones have not only become considerably smaller and handier, they have also become genuine multi-media machines for which almost nothing is impossible. Nowadays Germany has more mobile telephones than inhabitants – in April 2008 the market broke the mark of more than 100 million connections.

Berlin, a mobile telephony stronghold

More than 150 telecommunication serivice providers can be found in the region, over 100 companies alone in Berlin. Besides the Deutsche Telekom AG Berlin is home to companies like Versatel, Colt and HanseNet, special providers like e*message Wireless Information Service Deutschland and Strato Medien as well as Motorola, Siemens, Nokia-Siemens-Networks, Texas Instruments, Tektronix, AVM, Aastra-DeTeWe and ADC-KRONE.

Added value services aren't just ring-tones, display logos or games. For example, »mobile parking« has been possible in Berlin since the beginning of 2009. After registering in the internet, drivers start and end their parking manoeuvre by calling the toll-free service number. The parking fees are then calculated down to the minute and debited from motorists‘ bank accounts once a month. In public commuting systems, too, customers can do without tickets more and more often. All one needs to be able to do so is a Java-capable mobile telephone, a mobile telephone contract with an internet connection and a computer with an internet connection. After logging on to the system, you download special Java software onto your mobile telephone and are then sent a PIN number which is required to buy tickets. You pay once a month by having your bank account debited, with a credit card or via a pre-paid account. This system has been successfully used by the BVB.

Mobile Social Networks

The mobile internet ensures that some of the classical added value services lose their attraction. So instead of just ring-tones, it is now worthwhile downloading whole songs from the internet which can then be used as ring-tones. And sending text messages may also be a thing of the past, now that writing emails via mobile telephone is considerably more convenient and works with no limits on the types of characters used. This becomes even clearer with devices and contracts which support instant messaging.
But this development only constitutes a first step to »Mobile 2.0«. As parallel to this, more and more services for mobile use of »social networks are coming into being«, for example »Aka-Aki. Today, some 50 million people around the world already use mobile social networks of this type and the numbers will be increasing considerably in the years to come.

M-Payment

In spring 2008, the association of the German internet industry eco published the long-term study »Bezahl‘s doch mobil« (»Just Pay by Mobile«). According to the study, about half of all Germans wanted the opportunity to pay with their mobile telephones, but so far no sustainable business model has been able to get established.