Telematics and Informatics 26 (2009) 223–226

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Telematics and Informatics

Editorial

Mobile and wireless communications: Technologies, applications,

This issue of Telematics and Informatics examines developments in mobile and wireless communications with respect
to new and upcoming applications and markets. The issue starts with a paper on the development trajectories of different
mobile and wireless technologies and thereafter gives emphasis to questions regarding the upcoming uses of the opportu-
nities provided by technology and the relevant business models and diffusion patterns foreseen.
The emphasis is thus on upcoming developments – things that are emerging right now or are appearing on the horizon
not that far away. Focus is on the present and mid-term perspective with issues, which are being tackled at the moment and
are to be dealt with in the near-by future in order to take advantage of the technological opportunities offered by new
mobile and wireless technologies.
The issue of the journal has a European focus. One of the papers, though, deals with developments in Latin America and
another paper takes a broader historical view on the development of mobile and wireless technologies, but all other papers
have primarily a European background and perspective. This is important to notice as developments are not entirely the
same in all parts of the world. Countries in Asia – in particular Japan and South Korea – have taken a lead in the development
of new mobile and wireless applications. European countries, which were at the forefront regarding 2G developments in
connection with GSM, have generally experienced a relatively slower development with regard to 3G and beyond technol-
ogies and applications.
The reasons for such differences are not discussed in the papers; however, the papers reflect that developments of new
mobile and wireless applications have also started taking off in Europe, leading to an interest in the potential success of new
applications, what the business models are likely to be, and how diffusion will proceed.
In the paper ‘License–exempt: Wi–Fi complement to 3G’, Wolter Lemstra and Vic Hayes compare and contrast the devel-
opment of Wi–Fi as a license–exempt wireless broadband technology to access the Internet with the licensed regime of
broadband cellular networks such as 3G. The approach is partly historical providing an overview of the main development
steps in respectively mobile cellular technology and spread spectrum technology, partly based on the concept of technolog-
ical paradigms (e.g., Dosi, 1982) and innovation journeys (Van de Ven et al., 1999). Though short, the historical account is full
of details and even self-experienced details as one of the authors is Vic Hayes who is often considered the ‘father of
Wi–Fi’ (BusinessWeek, 1 April 2003), as he was instrumental in the standardisation of Wi–Fi.
The paper also compares the two technology areas with respect to regulatory regimes, business models, and diffusion
trajectories. The overall conclusion is that the two technology areas have followed two very different development paths
and that, even though there is a degree of overlap in the use of the two types of technologies, they mainly complement
one another in the ways they are used presently.
The following two papers are concerned with business models. The first of these two papers deals with business models
for context aware mobile services; the other one is on potential business models for managing the use of flexible spectrum.
Mark de Reuver and Timber Haaker are the authors of the paper on context aware mobile services: ‘Designing viable busi-
ness models for context aware mobile services’. They provide an account of the kinds of contexts to include such as location,
profile and preferences of users, device and connection types, etc.; also social awareness and group awareness are included.
Based on Bouwman et al. (2008), who argue that service, technology, organisation, and financing components make up the
elements of a business model, de Reuver and Haaker sum up the generic elements to take into account when examining
business models for mobile services.
This overview is used as the foundation to consider what is important in business models for context aware mobile
services. 18 experts, academics as well as practitioners from three different European countries, were selected for semi-
structured interviews to discuss the challenges of business models for context aware mobile services. The result of the

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224 Editorial / Telematics and Informatics 26 (2009) 223–226

investigation is the conceptualisation of three design issues within each of the four components mentioned (service, tech-
nology, organisation and financing). These design issues differ to some extent from the general design areas derived from the
generic business model components.
One of the challenges is that the value added from context awareness and personalisation for different user segments is
seen as uncertain. Furthermore, proper pricing and multiple revenue models are highly important due to the limited will-
ingness to pay for context aware mobile services. Moreover, the role of the different partners in the value chain is charac-
terised as unclear and unsettled, especially regarding the role of the telecom operators as important access points. The
principle contribution of the paper is the finding, structuring and discussion of the most important design issues that go into
the construction of viable business models for context aware mobile services.
The following paper, ‘Flexible spectrum and future business models for the mobile industry’, by Pieter Ballon and Simon
Delaere is a conceptual paper aiming to inform, e.g., the World Radio Conference in 2011 on the future possibilities for spec-
trum management through the mechanism of a Cognitive Pilot Channel (CPC). This mechanism is considered to be an impor-
tant element in ensuring an efficient and open market with lower entry barriers into the wireless industry.
The basic premise of the paper is the acknowledgement that a flexible spectrum approach risks to make frequency use
more complex: wireless devices will need to scan the spectrum on a continuous basis in order to find the relevant services.
Ballon and Delaere propose a CPC as a solution to this service discovery problem. They report on a number of activities taking
place within various forums such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and European Telecommunica-
tions Standards Institute (ETSI) in order to develop use cases and research to inform the decisions on a CPC at the World
Radio Conference in 2011.
The primary contribution of the paper is – in addition to the discussion on the CPC concept – the evaluation of nine dif-
ferent business model scenarios. The nine scenarios are developed on the basis of two fundamental aspects: (1) business
stakeholder ownership of the CPC combined with (2) the contractual agreement with the customer for the establishment
of a CPC. The nine business model scenarios are, thereafter, evaluated using a scorecard approach taking into account the
four following perspectives: financial, customer-related, internal process, and learning and growth. The conceptual analysis
provided documents inherent conditions and challenges leading to a discussion on why some of the proposed business
models are expected to be more viable than others.
Papers number four and five examine the diffusion of, respectively, wireless broadband in Latin America and mobile TV in
Denmark. Both papers make contributions on how to better understand the conditions for individual and group adoption
and thus what to expect from the market. Both studies emphasise socio-economic factors as important explanatory
elements. Comparing the two studies, however, points at considerable differences in the importance they attach to economic
and demographic factors based on quite different market situations.
Martha García-Murillo and Juan Rendón argue in their paper, ‘A model of wireless broadband diffusion in Latin America’,
that when studying the diffusion of wireless broadband, the literacy skills, income, and access to computers of the popula-
tion need to be taken into account. The paper examines cellular-based data networks and Wi–Fi adoption in Brazil, Chile,
Mexico and Peru. It is argued that disparities in income, education, and technology will lead to a so-called patchwork adop-
tion of technology, where some segments may adopt state of the art technologies and other segments adopt obsolete tech-
nologies or even none.
The factors leading to such patchwork adoption are identified as (1) socio-economic factors, (2) education and cultural
factors, and (3) technological factors. The close interrelatedness of these factors presents a divide between the wealthy
and the poor. It is argued that in Latin America, where there are only few rich people, a small middle class, and a large per-
centage of poor people, only a minority have access to computers and broadband in their homes; instead, most people have
mobile phones. Moreover, the percentage of children and young people in society is much higher than the percentage of
adults, which makes professional applications less appealing to the larger population. Furthermore, the high unemployment
rate, implies that most people have little money at their disposal. Schools and workplaces are often the sites for getting
access to computers and Internet.
In order to forecast the diffusion pattern, García-Murillo and Rendón make a dynamic simulation of the diffusion of 3G
and Wi–Fi in Mexico. The simulation supports the theory of patchwork adoption. Based on the simulation, the authors put
forward the point of view that regulators and policy makers should be aware of and implement programs to reduce the dig-
ital divide through training and access at lower rates as well as providing opportunities for less expensive solutions to be
marketed.
Ioanna Constantiou develops a theoretical model to account for the explanations of the individual’s choice whether to
adopt new mobile TV or not in her paper: ‘Consumer behaviour in the mobile telecommunications’ market: The individual’s
adoption decision of innovative services’.
Constantiou searches for explanations for the low demand for mobile TV arguing that many attempts have been made,
but none really explain the situation. Constantiou argues that it is not only the technical capabilities that influence the deci-
sion but also cognitive factors and the socio-economic situation of the user.
In this respect, the argument is in line with the viewpoint of García-Murillo and Rendón presented in the previous paper.
However, the difference between the two papers lies in the importance of income, which seems to be less crucial in the
Danish study, pointing to cross-national differences. Constantiou constructs a behavioural-economic framework arguing
that adopters make a cognitive decision based on referencing and reasoning. The reference process involves a comparative
 Editorial / Telematics and Informatics 26 (2009) 223–226 225

analysis, whereas the reasoning process is focused on a limited number of specific attributes or features of the services. Both
are influenced by the potential adopter’s background regarding experience, knowledge and expertise.
In order to explore the theoretical framework, a survey was made among a group of 70 students using the Internet. A
small introduction to the service offerings through mobile TV was given before the survey. The conclusions found were that
if respondents had positive experiences from similar services, the background context would have a positive influence on the
referencing and reasoning processes. The local context, such as the location where the services are available, has positive
effects on the reasoning process. Three groups of adopters were found based on their willingness to pay and whether they
found the content categories valuable, which points to the need of a differentiated market approach. The study also indicates
that referencing and reasoning processes may work in the same or opposite direction.
The last three papers all deal with mobile content in different manners. The paper by Claudio Feijóo, Ioannis Maghiros,
Fabienne Abadie and José-Luis Gómez-Barosso entitled ‘Exploring a heterogeneous and fragmented digital ecosystem: mo-
bile content’ is a broad examination of different types of mobile content. The paper by Dimitri Schuurman, Lieven De Marez,
Pieter Veevaete and Tom Evens entitled ‘Content and context for mobile television: Integrating trial, expert and user find-
ings’ deals more specifically with content within the area of mobile TV. Finally, the paper by Angel Garcia-Crespo, Javier
Chamizo, Ismael Rivera, Myriam Mencke, Ricardo Colombo-Palacios, and Miguel Gómez-Berbís is a presentation of an appli-
cation related to e-tourism: ‘SPETA: Social pervasive e-tourism advisor’.
The paper by Feijóo et al. focuses on different ways to understand mobile content. The authors examine the origins of
content and if content can be seen as re-use or if it is innovative. The authors explore the similarities and dissimilarities
to get insights into the different dimensions in order to better understand the market potentials regarding mobile content.
It is argued that the heterogeneity stems from (1) the production–delivery–consumption structure of content businesses, (2)
the business models of the players involved, and (3) the diversity in user perceptions.
Feijóo et al. start by making a preliminary analysis of a broad area of mobile content including, e.g., mobile publishing,
mobile music, mobile gambling and mobile user generated content. Furthermore, they argue that even within some of these
categories, variations exist making such categories of only limited value. In order to better understand the context of con-
tent, a matrix is developed based on a creativeness dimension (whether content is processed information or creative con-
tent) and a mobility dimension (whether content is adapted to a mobile format or mobile specific). This results in four
categories: adapted (mobile mail), repurposed (mobile music), augmented (location aware) or original (mobile social net-
working). The authors use the framework to make the point that while some content is simply transformed, the categories
of augmented and original content represent a promising evolution.
In order to illustrate the differences between the different content types, issues relating to (1) creation and production,
(2) delivery, distribution and access, and (3) use, consumption and interaction, are discussed. Also the varieties of business
models in use within the mobile content domain are explained to show the diversity possibilities in the market. The paper
concludes with the argument that each type of mobile content is in need of a different market approach to succeed. Espe-
cially local and context aware content as well as user created and user generated content are seen as emerging and highly
different content forms in need of new market approaches.
In the seventh paper, Schuurman et al. use a number of different methodologies to examine what mobile TV users want.
Based on a literature review, user trials, an expert survey, and a user survey they examine peak moments, duration and
usage goal. The different methodologies provide quite different answers to the questions being raised, which shows that
our understanding is rather fuzzy and that a deeper understanding is needed. However, the shortcomings of the different
methods are also discussed as the tests are very technology focused providing limited content whereas the surveys are based
on expectations.
The literature review shows that mobile TV is expected to be used in the morning, during lunch breaks and in the
early evening. As use is thought to happen while on the move, the content should have a short duration. However,
the data obtained from trials in different countries show quite a variety with respect to peak moments, i.e., when mobile
TV is watched, as well as for how long – which is much longer in average than expected in the literature review. Enter-
tainment and information are the kinds of content most used. Furthermore, the user survey documents that usage mo-
ments and duration are expected to vary and that entertainment and killing time is what users want mobile TV for. The
user survey showed a quite low interest in mobile specific and repurposed content, which otherwise is seen as more
promising than linear transmission, as specific and repurposed content is more suited for the mobile format and shorter
watching periods while on the move (see also the previous paper). The expert survey pointed at the expectation that mo-
bile TV would interfere with radio, providing visual radio and complementing traditional TV. Finally, the paper provides
an overview of the most watched and wanted content types as well as a list of examples of new mobile TV content types.
In summary, the paper points to a broader understanding of what users want than is usually seen in deliberations on
mobile TV.
The last paper in this issue is written by Garcia-Crespo, Chamizo, Rivera, Mencke, Colombo-Palacios, and Gómez-Berbís.
The paper entitled ‘SPETA: Social pervasive e-tourism advisor’ provides an example of how the combination of new technol-
ogies and new media phenomena may be combined to develop new sophisticated mobile services – as the SPETA service
within e-tourism. The SPETA system is a service provided through a handheld device managed by tourists: the system offers
recommendations on what to do dependent on services available, location, weather, time of the day as well as personal pref-
erences alongside recommendations from friends and people with similar profiles.
226 Editorial / Telematics and Informatics 26 (2009) 223–226

The value added is thus provided from contextualizing the service recommendation (such as sites to visit, places to eat,
etc.) making the service highly personal and relevant in the present situation. The contextualization is based on a service
locator, social networking, location based information and personal preferences by combining web 2.0 with a GIS system
and a recommender system using hybrid filtering. One of the main contributions in the paper is the increased understanding
of context as including not only location related issues but also a personal identity and social network and not least includ-
ing this extended understanding as part of the context aware system.
As a summary, this issue of Telematics and Informatics includes eight papers on the following subjects:

Technology development paths and the substitution and complementation of 3G and Wi–Fi.
Business models for, respectively, context aware mobile services and a flexible spectrum management channel.
Diffusion emphasising, respectively, the socio-economic circumstances and the cognitive context for the adoption of
services.
Mobile and wireless content – on the structuring of different types of content, on the factors which are important for the
diffusion of mobile TV, and on an example of a set of context aware services.

The papers point at the importance of the topic of the heterogeneity of network developments and the substitution and
complementation of different mobile and wireless technologies – a topic explored in the Lemstra/Hayes paper as well as the
paper by García-Murillo and Rendón. Furthermore, the issue of flexible spectrum, which will become increasingly important
in the coming years, is explored not only by pointing at the importance of developing the flexibility of spectrum usage but
also by exploring the necessary organisational ways of doing this. Regarding technologies, the importance of the topic of
mobile TV in the present European context is reflected in two of the papers dealing with mobile TV – one of them summa-
rising explorations into the adoption of mobile TV (Schuurman et al.) and another one using mobile TV as a case regarding
diffusion (Constantiou).
Diffusion of advanced technologies is a recurring topic in this issue. The papers by García-Murillo and Rendón and Con-
stantiou have this as their main topic, while it is also the background topic of the paper by de Reuver and Haaker, and the
papers by Feijóo et al. and Schuurman et al., respectively.
Business models is also an important topic, which partly illustrates that ways of introducing new technology offers into
the market is extremely central in phases of the development where the spread of technology is only on the verge of taking
off. Business modelling is the primary topic of the papers by de Reuver and Haaker and by Ballon and Delaere. It is also a
theme in the paper by Feijóo et al.
Finally, the issue of context awareness is a theme in most of the papers. This applies to the papers by de Reuver and Haa-
ker (business models for context aware services), the paper by García-Murillo and Rendón (the socio-economic context), the
paper by Constantiou (the referencing and reasoning contexts), and the three papers on content by Feijóo et al., Schuurman
et al., and Garcia-Crespo et al. Especially the paper by Garcia-Crespo et al. is all about context, specifically with respect to
tourism related applications. The fact that context is a recurring theme should of course not be surprising as one could
say that context is no other than a translation of the importance of the specific market circumstances. The theme of context
awareness, however, provides special approaches to better understand the market circumstances and potentials.

References

Bouwman, H., Haaker, T., De Vos, H., 2008. Mobile Service Innovation and Business Models. Springer, Berlin.
BusinessWeek, 2003. Paving the airwaves for Wi–Fi. <http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2003/tc2003041_5423_tc107.htm>.
Dosi, G., 1982. Technological paradigms and technological trajectories – a suggested interpretation of the determinants and directions of technical change.
Research Policy 11, 147–162.
Van de Ven, A.H., Polley, D.E., et al, 1999. The Innovation Journey. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

Anders Henten
Hanne Westh Nicolajsen
Center for Communication,
Media and Information Technologies (CMI),
Aalborg University Copenhagen,
Copenhagen, Denmark
E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Henten).