Rutberg Quarterly, Q4 2008
December 3, 2008
iPhone, Android, Ovi, and BlackBerry: What is the Net Impact to the Wireless Industry?
Rutberg's Q4 2008 Quarterly event will focus on the structural changes and forces affecting the global wireless industry. The thesis for debate and discussion is how fundamentally the iPhone, Android, Ovi, and BlackBerry initiatives will change the global wireless industry. Each represents a new business model for the industry, with potential shift in roles from carriers to others in the ecosystem. In addition, each potentially facilitates the growth and usability for the mobile Internet. However, the prospects for several are uncertain. Further, the unit volumes for several may not be meaningful in context of the billion-unit mobile market.
Illustrative discussion questions include:
- What are the prospects for each? Which are likely to succeed? Which are not?
- For wireless carriers, will the initiatives materially affect industry structure and economics in the near-term?
- For handset manufacturers, will the initiatives lead to a U.S. market with unsubsidized handsets?
- For content providers, will the initiatives result in mobile devices/networks that are as open as wireline PCs/networks?
| Moderator | ||
| Rajeev Chand | Managing Director and Senior Equity Research Analyst, Wireless | Rutberg & Company |
| Speakers | ||
| Paxton Cooper | Senior Director, Platform Product Management | Research in Motion |
| Thomas Gewecke | President | Warner Bros. Digital Distribution |
| Ian McKerlich | Director, Mobile Web and Content Services | T-Mobile USA |
| Stephan Zimmermann | Principal | McKinsey & Company |
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