Wireless Influencers 2007 Content

This year, Wireless Influencers is organized into five distinct tracks, each of which will be comprised of three separate discussions. Each discussion will feature three to four speakers in addition to a single moderator, who will host all three discussions within the track throughout the conference. The purpose of the track format is to facilitate continued, escalated dialogue on a set of topics surrounding a common theme. Additionally, the tracks will provide conference delegates an opportunity for intellectual engagement with a consistent group of peers.

Conference Keynote Panels

The Discovery Dilemma
The wireless industry is at a defining moment in the growth of mobile media. For the cellphone to emerge as a viable third screen, the consumer problem of discovery must be solved, as the availability of content and variety of content sources far exceed the ability for users to navigate and interact with that content. Compelling precedents exist in the cable and Industry media industries, with implications for not only mobile discovery but also wireless industry business models. As panelists will deliberate in this session, the wireless industry has the challenge and opportunity to capitalize on telepublishing-a business model characterized by niche content for segmented users and enabled by robust yet facile content discovery.

The Collision of Consumers, Content, and Advertising
The interplay of what consumers, content providers, and advertisers each want is shaping the growth and future of digital and mobile media. Services are developed and packaged through a delicate balance of, for example, consumer interests in low or no cost services and minimal ad interruption; advertiser needs for receptivity, accountability, and relationships; and content provider requirements for monetization and audience. An even small misalignment in this balance has the potential to curb a particular service's success. Further, mobile presents additional and unique dynamics, such as the newness of consumers to the medium; the uncertain roles of carriers in distribution, demographic information, and ad placement; and the complexity of mobile integration with other content and ad channels. In this session, industry executives will discuss what consumers want and how the companies in the ecosystem partner-successfully and poorly-to deliver on those needs.

Emerging Markets - the New Frontier of Mobile Innovation
The role of emerging markets in the global wireless industry is changing dramatically. Traditionally, the emerging markets have been viewed as large volume, low margin ecosystems, with often assigned taglines such as "the next billion subscribers" and the "$20 handset". Instead, or perhaps in addition, emerging markets are evidencing global leadership in mobile innovation, with mass or viral adoption in applications such as instant messaging, voice SMS, mobile payments, and mobile ticketing. In this session, carrier executives from Asia, Africa, and Latin America will discuss the developments in their respective regions, the unique aspects of mobile-only connected societies, and the potential relevance and takeaways for other markets and ecosystems globally.

A Discussion with Lowell McAdam, President and CEO, Verizon Wireless

Conference Tracks

Track 1: What Consumers Want
This track will focus on the interests, needs, and wants of consumers in today's multi-media, multi-device, multi-network, multi-location, and multi-tasking environment. Illustrative topics for discussion include the demand and business models for broadband media (music, video, games) across delivery platforms (traditional, Internet, and mobile); the role of digital rights management; the new autonomy in content generation and distribution; the trends in consumer wallet size and allocations; and the meaningfulness of consumer behavior and lifestyle segments and affinity groups.

• Do consumers want carriers to have less control of their devices, services, and support?
• How do consumers want to consume, discover, store, and share mobile music and video?
• Do consumers view mobile as primarily an extension of existing Internet and TV services?

Track 2: The Convergence of Industries
The term convergence is widely used, with applicability across services, networks, and devices. This track will address the trends and issues facing the convergence of the mobile industry with other industries, such as wireline, cable, media and entertainment, Internet, financial, and retail. Illustrative topics include the core, sustainable competencies of mobile operators; the emerging offerings in quadruple play and in the digital home; the disruptions of new entrants; the drivers for cross-industry mergers and acquisitions; and the relative economics from brand, distribution, service, and technology assets.

• What specific, new, converged services will consumers want, and who will provide them?
• What is the new face of media in a converged world?
• Are cellphones the banking and payment mechanisms of the future?

Track 3: Mobile Advertising
Last year, participants at Wireless Influencers highlighted the beginning of experimentation and collaboration in mobile advertising. This year, participants will not only perform a year in review but also re-assess the practical opportunities from the sector, including both voice and data services. Illustrative topics in this track include the success profile and standardization of mobile advertising formats; the reactions of consumers to initial trials; the business models and roles for ecosystem participants; the usability of subscriber and network information; the context for mobile in overall advertising offerings; and the potential impact to carrier and media company valuations and profits.

• Mobile Advertising: What's working, where, and why?
• How will ad-supported content impact mobile media economics?
• Who will deliver sustainable and differentiated mobile ad networks?

Track 4: The Economics of Open Networks
Innovation in content and applications abounds globally, with startups as well as incumbents reaching consumers "for free" through browsing, texting, downloading, and side-loading. This track will explore the drivers, opportunities, and challenges for truly direct-to-consumer services. Illustrative topics include the most likely applications for viral consumer adoption; the impediments and enablers in device and networks; the benefits, risks, reactions, and roles of mobile operators; the revenue models for startup and incumbent businesses; and the prospects if any to create major new consumer brands through mobile media.

• How will alternative networks enable new business models and services?
• How will carriers deal with bandwidth-intensive non-carrier services?
• Will business models without handset subsidies gain mass scale?

Track 5: Networks, Devices, and Solutions
This track will identify and assess the disruptive innovations in underlying networks, devices, and semiconductors-from mobile broadcast and mobile WiMAX, to new user interface solutions, to reprogrammable processors and GPS chipsets. Illustrative topics include the seemingly persistent challenges in device fragmentation and ease of use; the emergence of new technologies in location, personalization, voice recognition, and other sectors; the value proposition of WiMAX to content and to consumer electronics; and the progress report for mobile broadcast, particularly for MediaFLO in the US.

• How will enablers of discovery, location, presence, and identity be commercialized on mobile devices?
• Does mobile broadcast enable a new paradigm of consumer services and carrier economics?
• Will WiMAX deliver on its vision of open, mobile, and high bandwidth access?