Why Belgian media groups should consider buying 4th UMTS licence

By Fabian Tilmant on 1 April 2009 in New (ways of using) Media | Comments Off

Belgian government has decided, more to refill State’s accounts in these downturn times than to stimulate competition, to propose a fourth licence for setting up and commercially exploiting an additional UMTS network in Belgium. VOO and Telenet seem logically interested as 4th major Telecom actors in Belgium (Telenet mostly in North and VOO in South of the kingdom), but I believe that, UMTS being aimed at diffusing multimedia content through wireless network, other actors have a role to play in this game.
First of all because MNO (Mobile Network Operators) have failed until now stimulating mobile data usage in Belgium. Many people blame the lack of device subzidiation in the country, but I believe it is also the failure of enabler’s roll out (such as simple and standard configuration settings, activation plan and marketing propositions for mobile internet/WAP/wireless services) and expensive data plans by mobile operators, as well as bad quality of their 3G/3G+ network that are the real reasons.
I think that media groups, which are mostly private companies in opposition to mobile operators that mostly emerge from historical telecom operators, would be more efficient at providing an optimal experience to the users and efficient and profitable business models to advertisers. Look at Blyk being managed by a media expert in Belgium: Eric Samson. → Click to continue reading…

Flair Mobile wins Golden Mobistar Innovation Award

By Fabian Tilmant on 16 January 2009 in Mobile Marketing | Comments Off

Flair Mobile won a Golden Mobistar Innovation Award in the MMS category. Looking for new ways of doing mobile advertising, Fabian Tilmant from Cleverwood designed an MMS service that allowed any mobile user in Belgium to subscribe to this innovative weather forecast service. Based on forecasted weather, but also on user preferences, Flair Mobile sends every day an outfit proposition to the subscribers.

Based on an idea from Carole Lamarque, Mobile Business Unit Manager at Sanoma Magazines Belgium, Fabian and Ring Ring proposed this service to 3 Suisses in order for them to gain visibility on this new media.  → Click to continue reading…