Released on = August 29, 2006, 4:10 am

Press Release Author = Visiongain

Industry = Telecommunications

Press Release Summary = San Francisco, CA, and London, UK; 24 August 2006:
Approximately 13% of US users currently access dating services from their mobile
phone. That is one finding of the latest study, "Mobile communities and user
generated content 2006-2011: Monetising mobile social networking" published by
industry analyst firm visiongain.

Press Release Body = This one statistic needs to be compared with the remaining 87%
of users who access dating services using fixed-line internet access. These figures
show that community based websites are starting to make the transition to mobile and
are now being more frequently accessed through the mobile channel. Visiongain
believes that mobile operators must embrace user generated content (UGC) and mobile
communities further as they will offer a key source of revenue. Through UGC and
mobile communities operators will be able to generate revenue by targeted promotion
of tailored content and advertising to the relevant audiences.

The growth of social communities and UGC on the fixed line internet, with sites such
as MySpace and YouTube, has encouraged the mobile industry to try to replicate this
success on mobile. There are significant potential benefits for mobile operators in
offering such services, including the increase of mobile data usage, reduced churn
and greater opportunity for customer segmentation. Current mobile solutions that
have experienced some success include SeeMeTV from Hutchison's 3UK, which allows
users to upload captured video content from mobile, download other users' clips and
receive payment from the operator every time a user generated clip is downloaded.
The service, provided by Yospace, generates over one million video downloads per
month.

However, visiongain believes that the sweet spot for such mobile services will be
when they compliment existing or newly created fixed line services. Several
challenges face the success of mobile UGC and social communities, including varying
user internet experience depending on device or network and smaller screen and
keypad on mobile, mean that the services will need to compliment rather than compete
with fixed line services.
This convergence will enable users to maintain contact with fixed-line communities
in which they engage, rather than restrict usage to operator defined content. This
is key to encouraging usage of such services on mobile because MySpace users, for
example, will want to be able to contact other MySpace users via mobile and not be
restricted from doing so by operators.

The report also finds that UGC and communities will provide a way for mobile
operators to generate additional revenue through customer segmentation and
advertising. Communities allow operators to monitor user feedback and gain a better
understanding of what subscribers want from their content. So, for example, an
operator can provide a community that is discussing the latest track by a music
artist with links to download the track or video or ringtones.

This report analyses the current market in mobile UGC and provides forecasts through
to 2011 for revenues and usage. The study analyses the current strategies of major
operators in this space and discusses the issues and challenges faced in generating
revenue from UGC. The report also looks at the solutions of content providers and
discusses the potential of existing fixed line sites, such as MySpace and YouTube,
to go mobile.

Companies mentioned in this report:

AirG, Alltel, America Movil, Amp'd, Atchik-Realtime, BBC, Break.com, BT, Buzznet,
Carl Zeiss company, Carphone Warehouse, Cingular, Classmates.com, ComVu, Cyworld,
Djezzy, Earthlink, Enpocket, FaceParty, Freever, FunMobility, Globe Telecom, Google,
Helio, Interpublic Group, ITN, Juice Wireless, Jumbuck, Kyocera, Macromedia Flash,
Metro PCS, Microsoft, Mobestar, Motricity, MySpace, NBC, NewBay, Nokia, OhmyNews,
Optus, Orange, RADVISION, Rocketboom, Shozu from Cognima, SK Telecom, Sky News,
Sony, Sprint-Nextel, Tagged, Time Out, T-Mobile, Upoc Networks, Verizon Wireless,
Virgin Mobile, Vodafone, Warner Bros., Wataniya, Webshots, Yospace, YouTube,
Zapptrio Inc, Zoto

Notes for Editors

If you are interested in a more detailed overview of this report, including charts
and images, please email sara.peerun@visiongain.com or phone Sara on +44 (0) 20 7336
6100.
About visiongain

Visiongain is one of the fastest growing and most innovative independent media
companies in Europe. Based in London, UK, visiongain produces a host of
business-2-business conferences, newsletters, management reports and e-zines
focusing on the Telecoms, Pharmaceutical and Defence sectors.

Visiongain publishes reports produced by its in-house analysts, who are qualified
experts in their field. Visiongain has firmly established itself as the first
port-of-call for the business professional, who needs independent, high quality,
original material to rely and depend on.
For more information on visiongain, please visit the website:
www.visiongainintelligence.com


Web Site = http://www.visiongainintelligence.com

Contact Details = Visiongain
4th Floor
BSG House
226-236 City Road
London EC1V 2QY

Tel: +44 (0)20 7336 6100
Fax: +44 (0)20 7549 9931

http://www.visiongainintelligence.com