Will .Mobi Make Any Difference?

Brands have until 3pm today to register their own .mobi domain names before the cyber-squatters move in.

The new domain name is being touted as one of the drivers for the mobile Internet in the UK, but to be honest I think there are a few more serious issues that need to be overcome first.

Pricing and confidence are the main two.

It is simply too expensive to browse the mobile Internet at present and many consumers are wary of using data services as the charging models are unclear. Operators need to address this problem if the mobile Internet is to take off and if you speak to them they will tell you that they are, because their future business models will require the success of the mobile Internet – but I am not so sure. At the very least the operators seem to be dragging their feet as a move to off-portal services will hit their revenues. Only T-Mobile has a pricing model that seems to fit the bill at the moment – ‘Web ‘n’ Walk’.

Confidence in data services also has to be built up before the mobile Internet will be a big success. WAP has provided a wholly unexciting experience so far for the majority of users and the mobile Internet needs to deliver just what it says – the Internet on a mobile.

That is no mean feat, but until phone data services reach a level where they become useful, relevant and easy to access as well as instilling consumer confidence, the mobile Internet will not flourish whether it has its own domain name or not.