The Financial Times and Carphone Warehouse will launch a mobile virtual network.
UK publishing group Pearson, which owns the Financial Times newspaper, will team up with mobile phone retailer, Carphone Warehouse, to launch a joint venture. The service will comprise a mobile portal that provides business-related content, as well as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) which will supply an FT Mobile-branded service using capacity leased from UK mobile operator BT Cellnet.
Mobile is a major part of the FT’s strategy. Pearson spent GBP113 million in 2000 on building the FT’s Internet presence, including the ft.com website and its existing FT Mobile portal. In the long run, this investment is likely to pay off. Up-to-date financial information and commentary is believed to be one of the areas where charging a subscription for Internet content is most viable.
Indeed, FT Mobile is a good example of how independent mPortals can work. The portal offers mobile device users a choice of a subscription service, which creates their own personalized WAP homepage with the latest information on areas in which they are interested. Users can also receive alerts by SMS on news headlines, as well as browsing the mobile version of the standard ft.com site for free.
But the site’s at a disadvantage. Because current-generation WAP devices are difficult to use and configure, most users tend to stick with the services pre-configured with their handset. These are inevitably run by the mobile operator the handset is tied to, or by an affiliate company. Portals like Vodafone’s Vizzavi and BT Cellnet’s Genie therefore currently have a huge first mover advantage. However, launching a customized MVNO service should allow the FT to benefit from some of these advantages, as business customers are likely to be attracted by its strong brand.
In the longer term, though, the MVNO move will be less important. Datamonitor predicts that by 2005, 56% of mCommerce revenues will come from independent portals, as services are more tailored and sophisticated, while devices become easier to configure. The FT’s move is best seen as a way of building up its market share in the meantime.
