25/06/2003
Speakers: David Varney, Chairman, mmO2 plc
There is an argument about who invented the mobile phone. Was it Joel Engel at Bell in 1947 who found a way to make radio spectrum go further by dividing a region up into cells, or was it Martin Cooper at Motorola in 1973 who created the first network? What is clear however, is that although the technology has been around for decades, three-quarters of my customers didn't own a mobile phone five years ago - think about that. Yes, the technology had to catch up - the switches, the batteries and so on. But it was less than 20 years ago when Ernie Wise made the first cellphone call in the UK. Now every sixth person in the world owns one. It was users that turned on mobile.
From the early adopting yuppies and plumbers to today's market saturation, it is people, not technology that has driven this phenomenon. It was not, for example, our intention that people would give up their watches and alarm clocks in favour of their mobiles, but that is what they are doing. It was certainly not the industry's original plan to have billions of SMS text messages flashing around the world.
The impact has been unforeseeable, and mind-boggling. Engel and Cooper would have had no idea that this year alone, some 483 million mobile phones are expected to be sold around the world. There are now more mobile phones in used than fixed phones. The economic consequences are as exciting as the social ones are bewildering. One consequence has certainly been a field-day for statistics. Among my favourites are that 25% of Italians say their lack of a mobile phone is a blow to their confidence and causes sexual problems with partners, and that 58% of Norwegians believe it is rude to take a mobile call in a supermarket. I mean, who asks these questions, and why? Well, I suppose it is think-tanks like Demos.
A colleague of mine, Will Harris who led the creation of the O2 brand has taken a sabbatical to write a book on the implications of mobiles, he has another statistic - the people of Nottingham send more text messages than do the entire inhabitants of the State of California.
One fact I gleaned from the report is that mobile SMS now has twice the reach of the Internet in Europe. This underlines the importance of the recommendation that government begins to take mobile, as a channel for information and public services, as seriously as it does the internet. The opportunities for public service delivery are huge, and largely untapped.
This report is truly fascinating, and mmO2 has been glad to sponsor it. I would like to thank the team at Demos for producing it, and in particular for taking the debate away from technology, and back to the customer.
I would like really to make only one further point, and it is about customers. As mobile grows and develops into the future, we will see a myriad of different applications hanging on different technologies - the idea of just using a mobile phone to make voice calls is a thing of the past. We will do more: we will get our entertainment, carry out transactions, and communicate by text, by picture and by video; as we access the internet; store our diaries and addresses; monitor our health conditions; send emails, or track locations; it goes on. But as we do more, there is greater pressure for regulation. At the moment, as well as the huge Communications Bill, regulation is being considered or called for on talk-driving, on e-money, on money-laundering, on content, on pricing, on competition, on chatrooms, on directory enquiries, on gateways, on cameraphones, on handset theft, on emissions, on use in public places, hospitals and aircraft, and so on...
We have been very happy to sponsor this report, and I know a lot of fun was had when the Demos team came to visit our 3G showcase on the Isle of Man - as well, of course, as some useful research.
As sponsor, we do not necessarily endorse the conclusions that have been reached, but I am pleased to see that James Harkin has made them bold, and controversial, and we certainly agree with the need for regulatory forbearance. I would like to make the simple appeal to the policy makers here today to please, tread lightly. This is a technology still in its infancy, and as the technology matures, we will inevitably face dilemmas. The industry will need to tread carefully, with foresight and wisdom around a number of sensitivities mentioned in this report. But all of must keep at front of mind, the really exciting possibilities that mobile offers to society. For enhanced productivity, for better public services - for healthcare and education, for more inclusive communications, for more engaged democracy. We don't know today what people are going to be using their mobile devices for in five years time, any more than we did five years ago. We must do nothing that stifles the creativity and imagination of people as they decide what they want to do with one of these.
Finally, I would like to take the chance to thank Stephen Timms for his powerful and public support for mobile. It is a source of some reassurance to know that within government there is a champion, and I hope that you find this report as thought provoking, and indeed as encouraging as I have.
