Published on
October 14, 2010.
Please note, this article was initially posted on Netmobo’s blog, click here to read it.
According to a recent Bloomberg article, wireless carriers seem concerned with a potential new regulation requiring telecoms to help consumers avoid “bill shock.” Bill shock refers to a consumer’s surprise from unexpected cell phone charges, many times due to over-use. The article states that:
“A new bill in the U.S. Senate would force AT&T, Verizon and other wireless carriers to send you a message – either by e-mail or text – if you’re approaching the limits of your monthly service plan.”
The bill may also demand that carriers receive the consumer’s permission before charging for services outside the regular plan. For example, using BilltoMobile to bill your carrier for the latest copy of Angry Birds. This second change is reasonable as our carrier bill looks more and more like a credit card and privacy concerns on the web remain prevalent.
While the carriers have legitimate financial gripes, they won’t be able to avoid these types of warning systems. Whether it comes to fruition due to government regulation, or free market forces, consumers hate bill shock and from my personal experiences would appreciate a warnings system. In addition to just minutes, as most carriers do away with their “all you can eat” data plan’s a consumption warning will be welcomed. Moreover, the technology needed to fulfull this regulation is already commercially available in the form of metered subscription services. In fact, Netmobo and competitors provide just this type of service. Also, the perfect medium for sending these warnings, SMS and push-technology are both readily available on Smartphones.
Passing this regulation may be a welcome surprise for companies operating in the mobile billing industry. If the bill were to pass, carriers like AT&T and Verizon would now be required to either build the solution themselves, our outsource to a reliable metered subscription provider. The second option is the cheaper and quicker way to market and would create a potential windfall for certain players in the mobile billing industry. However, this new required demand may lead to lower metered subscription prices as more competitors enter the market giving the carriers greater power through choice.
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Published on
August 11, 2010.
The summer of 2010 has provided me with an amazing learning experience. At one point during my summer internship, I became a founding member of a New York City startup. My company, Netmobo, LLC, offers infrastructure technology solutions to mobile app developers. More specifically, Netmobo provides an advanced and flexible mobile billing solution. You can learn more about us on our website.
Currently, I am addicted to building Netmobo and I barely sleep as we prepare our product to enter a Beta test. In the meantime, our team is commencing a capital raise, implementing a comprehensive sales and marketing strategy, and forming strategic relationships.
The most significant reason for my growing passion for our business–the mobile back office–is our focused and experienced management team. Even though Netmobo operates in a competitive market where internet blue chips, such as Google and Facebook, are beginning to invade. Our team understands that Netmobo’s unique solution is well positioned to fill the need of a a large and fast growing market that wants our product.
Working in an exciting industry this summer has been a blast. As I complete my second and final year at Stern this fall, growing Netmobo will remain a priority.
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Published on
June 4, 2010.
I intend this to be the first of a few posts discussing important trends I see in the digital media and Internet space. You may also recognize these trends, but they move quickly and it is important to understand how and where these trends move and which companies successfully embrace this change. With that said, I believe that what we are seeing on the Internet right now is just the tip of the iceberg. Onto the trends:
Greater use of location based apps: These apps have enormous creative potential and will prove profitable. Foursquarewas the first to shift the way my friends and I use our mobile devices, but Gowalla and Yelp have followed suit. Continue Reading
Published on
April 26, 2010.
A favorite application of mine is iConcertCal, which cross references my iPhone (and now my iTunes) music library with the local concert schedule to create a list of local concerts being put on by the artists whose music I own. While there are a few competitor applications (such as LiveKick and, Eventful), I am loyal to iConcertCal. As much as I like the app, however, there are more features I hope the developers address in future releases:
Speed: The application is slow to boot-up as it cross-references the music on my iPhone.
Genius: Similar to the genius function on iTunes, I would like iConcertCal to suggest those concerts it “thinks” I would like based on the genres I listen to, not just what I own. I don’t store my entire library on my iPhone and I can’t stay on top of 100% of the latest music. So, suggesting a Yeasayer concert based on the fact that I enjoy Phoenix, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Vampire Weekend would be very useful.
More than iTunes: iConcertCal should also cross-reference what I listen to on Pandora, or any other audio app. This may open up the potential to go beyond music—think movies or Broadway shows based on Youtube videos I watch.
Push Service: Why not provide an optional push service so you know about new shows immediately? And, this would alleviate constantly searching through the applications concert list to find new shows.
I love the idea for iConcertCal but I think a bit of innovation is needed.
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