[Hands0n]

As 3G expands in the UK and everyone seems to be looking for the killer application it may well be that the obvious is staring us in the face.

A change in the way that the Mobile Ops charge for data would appear to be a must if this BBC article is to bear much fruit. Other nations have switched on to this, will the UK's [PTT-minded] industry? Even with the latest news on Data tariffs they have not gone far enough to encourage on-line mobile gaming.



Games on mobile phones have come a long way since Snake or endless knock-offs of arcade classics such as Asteroids and Space Invaders.

Now many of the big name titles first created for consoles and PCs are turning up in shrunken versions for handsets that an increasingly large section of the population own.

But, says Thor Gunnarson of British mobile game maker Ideaworks3D, the whole industry is just getting started.

............

Data transfer rates on second generation networks are too slow to play real people in real time.

But, said Mr Gunnarson, such limitations disappear with 3G networks simply because they can ship more data back and forth more quickly.

Once latency or delay drops below 3.5 milliseconds it becomes invisible to users, said Mr Gunnarson, and 3G networks will definitely ship data between handsets fast enough for that.

................

Currently most operators charge users for the megabytes they use. A pricing mechanism, said Mr Gunnarson, that does not encourage people to spend lots of time browsing the web or downloading extra levels for games.
Flat rate pricing transformed the net industry and drove a huge rise in the numbers of people going online.

In the US, Verizon's VCast network uses flat rate pricing as does KDDI in Japan. Both have seen the numbers of mobile gamers increase rapidly.


Read the full article at --> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4295504.stm

[Ben]

Flat rate really is the way to go, but with customers paying £45 and up for 'flat rate' in the UK it's hard to see at what point exactly the mobile operators will value higher volumes and lower per-unit pricing over lower volumes and higher pricing.

I don't doubt that the networks are investing heavily in their infrastructure right now so they can move to more data orientated networks, but it's going to take time. I don't think there are any incentives to make them get their skates on!

Interesting article though, it's always good when people draw attention to the unrealistic data pricing we currently face.

[Hands0n]

But, says Thor Gunnarson of British mobile game maker Ideaworks3D, the whole industry is just getting started.


.............. And without the active support of the Mobile Networks vis a vis flat rate the "whole industry" [who they?] can reasonably be expected to turn into a huge flop!

The only reason that on-line gaming is financially viable on the Internet is precisely because of the flat rate deals that are now abundantly available.

Not many people are going to lay out for the Mobile Contract (say £30), add on the Internet 'flat rate' at £45 [which is only flat rate and not unlimited access, big diff] and then yet more for the entitlement to play the games. We're getting on for £90 per month at that rate! A total non-flyer in my book.

The Mobile Ops are going to have to wake up to this and go for high volume, low price. It is the only model that works and has been proven in other areas no end of times.