SAN DIEGO and SHANGHAI, Oct. 12, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The chairman and chief executive officer of SMS.ac, Inc. (www.sms.ac/corporate) today delivered a keynote address to attendees from around the globe at Global Mobile Congress 2004 in Shanghai, China.
Michael Pousti, whose California-based mobile data communications company is host to the largest community of mobile phone users in the world, predicted strong revenue growth for the industry and urged mobile operators to accelerate this growth by opening their billing systems to third parties.
"This is an interesting story -- you have mobile devices ready to emerge with significance as an extension of consumers' pocketbooks and purses," Pousti told conference attendees. "Mobile operators are uniquely positioned to benefit from revenue shares derived from even the smallest transactions. As a focal point of this nascent but exploding industry, it is important for operators to enter quickly into equitable revenue share agreements with third parties. (To operators) Open your billing systems and you will prosper."
Pousti's company (www.sms.ac) built technology that enables the interoperable exchange of SMS and MMS communications, rendering them deliverable utilizing more than 400 networks, to virtually any wireless handset in the world. There are millions of SMS.ac registered users in over 170 countries. Pousti asserts that revenues from mobile services will exceed $150 billion by 2009, based upon the accelerating consumption of mobile data, the increasing number of mobile subscribers and the outlook for leveraging the billing systems of mobile operators on a global scale.
"Nearly 2 billion people worldwide are already paying their mobile providers for mobile phone use," continued Pousti. "Now, imagine if your company can harness the power of microbilling. If your business has not already embraced an aggressive strategy to evolve to a mobile content or application company, drop most everything you're doing and prepare your content for mobile. Just be sure to base your offerings on communication. It's all about communications -- not just content."
Pousti also challenged regulatory bodies attending China's Global Mobile Congress 2004 (http://b3g.org/gmc/) to refrain from micromanaging the mobile industry. "The next five years will be crucial for the development of new, ubiquitous, monetizable mobile networks," said Pousti. "If we try and tether the growth too early with compliance and regulations, the chances that we'll do more harm than good is almost a certainty."
Speaking to the handset manufacturers in attendance, Pousti said that the fast-track to revenue generation and brand loyalty is accomplished through pre-loading community-focused applications on mobile handsets. "While mobile devices continue to improve, differentiation really occurs with applications," contends Pousti. "Load applications right onto your phones, so it's there when the consumer takes delivery of the device. Market the applications all over the container and be highly visible at the point of purchase."
Pousti also recommended that handset manufacturers partner with the largest mobile communities they can find. Not so coincidentally, SMS.ac hosts the largest community of mobile phone users on the planet. "The fact that the largest community wins has been repeatedly proven. Windows won because it grew both ends of the community -- application developers and consumers."
Pousti's message to mobile operators was two-fold: Speed the rollout of 3G (third-generation) and provide simpler and more flexible ways for billing to happen. "Integrated billing is the path to the future. Refine and improve the process for third-party entities to collect revenues and get paid. Achieve predictability with billing. Work towards standardization. Without this, the industry won't ever be real."
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About SMS.ac
SMS.ac, Inc. is a mobile data communications company whose proprietary MMSbox technology enables the exchange of text (SMS) and multimedia (MMS) mobile communications across any technology platform and renders them deliverable to virtually any enabled wireless device. A demonstration of MMSbox technology is available at www.sms.ac. With more than 10 million registered users in 170 countries, SMS.ac is host to the largest community of mobile phone users in the world. The Company offers connectivity to more than 400 mobile networks worldwide. Through its core MMSbox(tm) technologies, SMS.ac, Inc. enables interoperable, worldwide wireless interaction between network operators, the Internet, enterprises, consumers and application/content developers. Through its global initiatives, SMS.ac is igniting the widespread adoption and use of wireless data.
SMS.ac derives revenues from shared revenue relationships with mobile operators around the world, as well as from mobile marketing campaigns, technology licensing, subscriptions, sponsorships and other streams. SMS.ac's consumer site (www.sms.ac) is an example of the brandable web interfaces to MMSbox(tm) technologies available for licensing. To view the SMS.ac corporate web site, visit www.sms.ac/corporate.