Simple apps are often the most compelling

Fierce Mobile Content –Editor's Corner – November 20, 2007 – I empathize with the mobile content executives at the top-tier U.S. wireless operators. I know they are bombarded with requests from hundreds (perhaps thousands) of small content and application firms that want them to evaluate their applications.

In the U.S. market, getting a Tier 1 operator's seal of approval on an application is akin to hitting the jackpot. If you're a small application developer, you must have this approval if you want to last long in the market.

Perhaps all the application developers and content firms in the industry should take a lesson from Cequint. Last week at FierceMarkets' Wireless Voice 2007 conference in San Francisco, I met with this firm and I realized that sometimes it's the simple applications that are the most compelling to consumers. And often these applications have nothing to do with entertainment and everything to do with making consumers' lives easier.

Cequint has created a software solution called City ID that provides consumers with two pieces of data: the city and state associated with the exchange and area code of the incoming call. Since name Caller ID doesn't exist in wireless, this is compelling to subscribers.

These two pieces of information are enough for most people to quickly figure out who might be calling and to decide whether or not to answer their phone. The application is installed on the handset by the device manufacturer, so there is no need for the operator to do anything to their network or infrastructure. In other words, there's very little capital investment required by the operator to make this application work. However, because it is installed on the handset, Cequint (and the operator partner) must get manufacturers to put the application on their devices.

Rick Hennessey, CEO of Cequint, says that the potential revenue from City ID for mobile operators is substantial, and IGR Research estimates that an operator with 30 million subscribers and a City ID penetration rate of 20 percent could generate additional revenues of $143 million. That is a significant amount of revenue for a simple application.

Hennessey recommends carriers charge customers $1.99 per month for the service and he also recommends that carriers offer the service for a short period of time to consumers for free so they can see the benefits before giving them the chance to add City ID to their monthly bill. Alltel started offering City ID in May. The application was initially offered on the LG AX275 handset. At launch, Alltel offered a free seven-day trial of City ID. After the trial ends, the application is available to consumers for a monthly charge of $1.99.

I don't have any stats on how well the Alltel implementation of City ID is progressing but I do believe this application makes a lot of sense for subscribers. I often look at the screen of my cell phone and debate whether or not to pick up a call based upon the number displayed. If I had more information, such as City ID, I think it would make my decision-making process much easier. -Sue

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