The ASP industry is fast migrating to wireless, which will account for more than 15 per cent of the total ASP market in less than a year’s time, according to a new trade group set up to champion the new business model.
The inaugural meeting of the ASP Industry Consortium’s newly formed Wireless Sub-Committee heard how Europe is currently eight-months ahead of the USA and rest of the world in the $3 billion a year mobile ASP market. The Sub-Committee is one of three groups operating under the ASP Industry Consortium’s Technology Committee, which is chaired by Reza Ghorieshi of IBM. The Wireless group is chaired by Shirley Cotterill of Cisco Systems, who is based in the UK.
“Europe is already way ahead in terms of mobile technology, and therefore ideally placed to drive the development of the wireless ASP business model,” said Cotterill. “Wireless ASPs are set to skyrocket — but as an industry we will only achieve long-term success by rallying together in a spirit of co-operation and partnership.”
Cotterill added: “Our collective goal is ultimately to add value to content for the end user while ensuring that services are delivered in a usable and secure manner. We see the market evolving from its current Business-to-Employee focus to Business-to-Business and ultimately Business-to-Consumer, where the model will truly come into its own.
“The Gartner Group is predicting that the wireless ASP market will be worth $3 billion by next year – or 15 per cent of the total ASP business — with value accelerating rapidly with 3G and beyond. Clearly, wireless ASPs represent a massive business opportunity.”
The ASPIC Wireless Sub-Committee is a grouping of the world’s leading mobile operators, mobile virtual network operators, wireless infrastructure technology providers, suppliers and systems integrators with the common goal of promoting the industry and developing best services to consumers.
Among the attendees of the committee’s first meeting were current members IBM, Cisco, BT Cellnet, AU Systems, Marconi, KPMG, Unisys, SUN Microsystems and Dataroam, as well as a number of potential recruits including Motorola, Gameplay Orange and One-2-One.
The formation of the Wireless Sub-Committee is one of three initiatives being undertaken by the ASPIC Technology Committee, with Security and Common Billing Interface Definitions (CBID) also being focused upon. “The Common Billing Sub-Committee will work closely with the Wireless committee in order to capture and address specific billing requirements required by most wireless ASP vendors,” explained Ghorieshi. “As the Wireless committee expands, it will leverage the technical recommendations that are being developed within the Security Sub-Committee to help wireless ASPs embrace security guidelines viewed as ‘best practices’ within the industry.”
The global ASP Industry Consortium has also recently launched regional committees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the Scandinavian region. With more than 750 members, ASPIC is the fastest growing industry body in the world.