Mobile commerce forces shake-up of telecoms tariffs

The predicted surge in popularity of wireless ecommerce is set to transform the pricing model of European telecommunications, according to delegates at this week's GSM World Congress in Cannes.

Chris Leather, senior consultant at Hyperion, backed-up by fellow board members of the Global Mobile Commerce Forum (GMCF), said the shift from mobile voice to data services means an end to pricing calls on time and distance alone.

They envisage a scenario where costs are based on the type of content being accessed, and the operators bill users for the products and services they buy online as well as for access.

Speaking from Cannes, Leather told Silicon.com: "The current charging models tend to revolve around the time of day - for example peak rate or cheap rate - and perhaps the distance, whether you're in a local area or you're phoning overseas. And those are applicable to voice calls.

"But what we're going to see are much more in the way of information services being offered to your handset."

However, Leather was quick to add that the telco won't always get a cut of the profits. "They'll be negotiating behind the scenes with content providers, to work out a variety of business models that don't confuse the end user," he said.