Europe I 2012 (17)

Theme: Mobilising the economy, monetizing the mobile sector

Mobile is the dominant form of telephony in much of the world. Mobile is also a major economic force both as an industrial sector in its own right and as a facilitator of businesses processes and markets in general. In developing economies where mobile is often the only widely available form of telecommunications, it has created whole new markets and, for the first time, makes possible a money-based economy with bank-like services for previously ‘unbanked’ populations. In more developed regions Smartphones have put the Internet into the hands, literally, of everyone and every company.

On-the-go information, business applications, entertainment and more are enormous businesses in their own right. These and other services drive rapidly growing network, handset/mobile device, platform provider, service provider, security and content sectors.

The sector is so large that mobile-driven employment, service and equipment provider mergers and acquisitions and the stock market performance of sector leaders all have a measurably significant impact upon the economy. Conversely, oscillations in local and national economies can directly impact the sector’s fortune at every level of its commercial ecosystem.