Operators to cash in on UGC

News

Stuart O'Brien Oct 30 2006, 11:45am

It's all about 'me', 'me', 'me' - mobile communities and user-gen content (UGC) will generate $13.1 billion by 2011, according to a new report.

The research, from Informa Telecoms & Media and the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF), says photo and chat-based services will be the top revenue generators during the period.

Chat services currently represent the largest segment of the market, driven by SMS. However, 46 million users are expected to submit video clips to services like SeeMeTV or YouTube from their mobile phone this year, rising to 198 million by 2011.

“The meteoric rise of such sites as MySpace, Bebo and YouTube shows significant consumer demand for social interaction in the digital space,” said Daniel Winterbottom, senior analyst at Informa. “Adding mobility to these services represents a huge opportunity for mobile operators, who will benefit from a reduction in churn levels, as well as significant increases in data traffic.”

O2 UK, for example, is examining options for getting Bebo onto its handsets, emulating the exclusive agreement in the US between the Helio MVNO and MySpace.

MEF Global Chair Patrick Parodi added: “Mobile communities that combine user-generated content, branded content and always-on user interaction are a key growth driver for the mobile entertainment industry. Taking communities mobile combines entertainment and user interactivity on a new level.”