Is it worth the hassle to work with telcos?

With the TC3 Summit, the annual meeting of global carriers and startups and vendors, just weeks away - Derek Kerton, Chairman of the Telecom Council of Silicon Valley examines the historically rocky relationship between startups and telcos, and asks the question, is forming a partnership worth the hassle? Since the late 90s, the pendulum has swung back and forth for startups considering partnering with phone companies. Early this century, many VCs, dot com, and Internet companies were drawn to the allure of the mobile Internet. But the network operators were so clumsy at partnering with …

Mobile market stats round-up: September 14 – 21

Every week, MEF Minute scours the web for the most relevant industry data so you don’t have to. Today we take a look at the future of enterprise messaging, the mHealth market, the continued rise of the mobile camera, location based services and more... Enterprise messaging will generate $70.32bn in 2020 Never mind all those stories about the decline of ‘personal’ SMS - the ‘application to person (A2P) is flying. Transparency Market Research says the global A2P SMS market will surge to $70.32bn by 2020. It generated $53 billion two years ago. Its report studies to impact of A2P SMS on …

5 Minutes with… Humley

In our 5 minutes with profiles, MEF members talk about their business, their aspirations for the future and the wider mobile industry. This week, Michael Tomlins, CEO, introduces Infomedia Group subsidiary,  Humley. What does your company do? Humley develops solutions designed to deploy diverse mobile context and apply real time Big Data to deliver improved consumer engagement and retention for content providers, OEM’s, and Operators. We curate highly targeted communication on behalf of our partners to cultivate an intimate customer journey and thereby deliver deeper value to the end …

Global Mobile News Round-up – Week 7th September

The latest offerings from Apple, mobile in South Africa, Britain is dominating Euro Fintech, Twitter users in Indonesia can buy mobile minutes & data plus all the week's global mobile stories... Each week the MEF team curates mobile stories from around the world. Essential news you may have missed, the latest market insight and data nuggets, the Global Mobile News Round-up offers an instant international mobile content and commerce snapshot.  Global News Stories From TVs to the work desk, Apple wants iOS everywhere to be your companion for life The Drum Apple has claimed …

Finalists announced for 12th Annual Meffys

It's here! Finally. After record entries from over 30 countries and extensive judging by the independent panel of judges consisting of over 40 journalists, analysts, accelerators and VCs from around the globe, MEF Minute can exclusively unveil the finalists of the 2015 Meffys. The ultimate winners of the 15 categories will be announced on October 19th 2015 in London at a Gala Dinner taking place in London and  hosted by the legendary multi award-winning musician, beat-boxer and musical mastermind, Beardyman. Congratulations to all the finalists, see you at the bar! Meffys 2015 …

Six Essential Insights into the Indonesian App Market

Josh Fenn, Senior Marketing Manager at internet giant & MEF Member Baidu, shares his six tips for understanding the burgeoning mobile applications market in Indonesia, as well as a wealth of data from the MoboMarket Android App store, which boasts 4 million monthly active users in Indonesia. With a population of over 250 million people, Indonesia is an increasingly important market for mobile developers. But it’s difficult to know the most effective way to reach Indonesian users unless you can get an inside peek into how people there are searching for, downloading and updating …

Mobile First: MEFTV interviews GrowthEnabler & Axis Bank

At the inaugural MEF Global Forum Mobile First Markets in Bangalore, members and delegates came together to discuss the mobile opportunity across South East Asia, Middle East, Africa and of course India. Here MEFTV speaks with two more of the speakers, Aftab Malhotra from GrowthEnabler who talks about their work with startups and entrepreneurs across mobile first markets, and Axis Bank's Sohini Rajola who shares some of the strategies and challenges in bringing valuable banking services to the next billion, mobile first, consumers. GrowthEnabler - Aftab Malhotra, Co founder, Head of …

Mobile market stats round-up: September 7-14

Every week, MEF Minute scours the web for the most eye-catching industry data so you don’t have to. In today’s section we look at sales and projections for mobile video, smartphones, India, wearables and more... 27 per cent of Android owners switched to iOS across Europe’s big five markets last quarter Android is losing market share to iOS across Europe's big five markets, says new smartphone sales data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. It reports that for the three months ending July 2015 the platform lost ground in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. The firm reckons market …

5 Minutes with… Crazy4Media

In our 5 minutes with profiles, MEF members talk about their business, their aspirations for the future and the wider mobile industry. This week, Tom Horsey Founder & CEO introduces Crazy4media. What is Crazy4Media? Crazy4Media is a group of four specialist digital media companies, comprising of C4M Online (dedicated to the monetization of online advertising inventory for publishers), C4M Mobile (specialized in mobile entertainment and billing solutions), C4M Marketing (Social Media & SEM experts, focusing on performance marketing campaigns for e-commerce clients), and C4M Software …

Global Mobile News Round-up – Week 31st August

Google to start punishing websites that force full-screen app install ads, IoT devices ripe for cyber attack, payments via social media drive mobile money transfer market to 13bn transactions this year plus all the week's global mobile stories... Each week the MEF team curates mobile stories from around the world. Essential news you may have missed, the latest market insight and data nuggets, the Global Mobile News Round-up offers an instant international mobile content and commerce snapshot.  Global News Stories Google is going to start punishing websites that force …

Smartphones in mobile-first markets: it’s complicated

It’s one of the great truisms of the mobile industry: smartphone ownership is rocketing in developing markets. But is it true? Well, kind of but not really. At least according to the operator panel convened at the MEF Global Forum for Mobile First Markets earlier this summer. The event in Bangalore brought together Vodafone India’s Prakash Sayini, Turkcell’s Tahsin Akar, Ooredoo’s Thomas Chevanne and Etiselat Nigeria’s Adia Sowho to debate this question: Are mobile first markets ready for the smartphone revolution? The panellists answers would surprise anyone who has only read …

Global Mobile News Round-up – Week 24th August

Improving privacy policies post Spotify debacle, Yahoo woos mobile developers, Android Pay partner confusion, Amazon lays off hardware engineers, Facebook unveils messenger AI, China Mobile growth grinds to halt plus all the week's global news stories... Each week the MEF team curates mobile stories from around the world. Essential news you may have missed, the latest market insight & data nuggets, the Global Mobile News Round-up offers an instant international mobile content and commerce snapshot.  Global News Stories How to Make Privacy Policies Better, in Two Easy …

40 per cent of mobile users in MENA buy apps: insights into the Middle East App economy

MEF Member On Device Research recently teamed up with ArabNet to take a look at the burgeoning App economy in the MENA region, and came up with some interesting insights. Managing Director MENA, Nader Kobeissi, presented the report's findings at the ArabNet Digital Summit in Dubai. Surveying smartphone users throughout the UAE, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the report shows that more than half are app-happy, with 52% downloading five or more apps in the last month. This is compared with a tiny 2% who have downloaded none at all. What's more, those users are happy to pay for apps; …

Helping Users Build a Locally Relevant Web

The lowering cost of smartphones and cheaper data plans is fuelling the growth of mobile first markets - where the mobile device is the primary and often the only way of getting online for massive consumer segments. One company at the forefront of this undertaking is the Mozilla Foundation. Here Ben Moskovitz, Director of Development Strategy - speaking at MEF's recent conference, MEF Global Forum Mobile First Markets - shares insights into the work and philosophy behind bringing the internet to market for the first time, and the role mobile plays in that vision. In the next ten years, the …

Path-To-Purchase: How Smartphones Are Disrupting Consumers’ Retail Journeys

A consumer’s journey, which was predictable and straightforward until a few years ago, has now become sketchy and complex. Driven by technology, the retail industry is undergoing a paradigm shift. The traditional, linear path-to-purchase is being replaced by the checkered path of the modern consumer whose purchase journey is across a multitude of channels from desktops and laptops to smartphones, tablets, connected televisions, and wearable devices. The biggest challenge faced by an advertiser is to understand a customer’s journey across these devices and deliver personalized content that …

Global Mobile News Round-up – Week 17th August

Mobile Money security fears, operators take on Whats app in LatAm, mobile taking the lead in payments, mobile now 30% of all US e-commerce, plus all the week's global news stories... Each week the MEF team curates mobile stories from around the world. Essential news you may have missed, the latest market insight & data nuggets, the Global Mobile News Round-up offers an instant international mobile content and commerce snapshot.  Global News Stories Survey finds security holes in mobile money apps Mobile World Live A survey of branchless banking apps in the developing …

Interactive Entertainment in Mobile First Markets – MEFTV interviews Blippar & Deezer

Last month MEF hosted the inaugural MEF Global Forum Mobile First Markets in Bangalore, where members and delegates came together to discuss the mobile opportunity across South East Asia, Middle East, Africa and of course India. Here MEFTV speaks with two more of the speakers, Arnav Ghosh, Regional Director, India for Blippar, who speaks at length about the opportunities and challenges of bringing cutting edge AR services to India, and Steven Frank; Business Development, APAC, for music streaming giant Deezer, who likewise discusses strategies for tackling mobile first, developing …

10 trends that will impact mobile money in 2015

Mobile Money is taking off.  Buoyed by the launch of NFC payments from the likes of Apple and Google in developed markets and the lowering cost of smartphones in growth markets, it offers convenience, financial inclusion and incredible reach. Yet the technology is typically fragmented and necessarily has varying levels of government regulation to protect consumers. Here, Adel Shahin, Research Manager MEF member and mobile money provider, Novatti discusses the 10 key trends that are shaping mobile money. Mobile money generally refers to financial services provided by Mobile Network …

The next big thing – MEFTV interviews Hungama & Turkcell

Last month MEF hosted the inaugural MEF Global Forum Mobile First Markets in Bangalore, where  members and delegates came together to discuss the mobile opportunity across South East Asia, Middle East, Africa and of course India. Here MEFTV speaks with two more of the speakers, Neeraj Roy CEO of Hungama who moderated an excellent debate on the next big things for mobile-first markets and Tahsin Akar who shared his insights from operator Turkcell in a panel asking if mobile first markets are ready for the smartphone revolution. Hungama - Neeraj Roy, Managing Director & …

Global Mobile News Round-up – Week 3rd August

Apple to launch its own MVNO? Mobile agri-tech German carmakers buy Nokia maps, Adidas acquires mobile fitness company for $239M and smartphones are now the most popular way to browse the internet in the UK and more global mobile stories... Each week the MEF team curates mobile stories from around the world. Essential news you may have missed, the latest market insight & data nuggets, the Global Mobile News Round-up offers an instant international mobile content and commerce snapshot.  Global News Stories Apple is in talks to launch its own virtual network service in the …