Kashminder Singh

A killer app for the mobile industry is something every telco is looking for. It seems simple enough; this art of spotting an application or service that everyone will love and use. But the reality is that there have been many more failed applications than success stories.

You’ll see a bit later in this column that what seems like a sure thing has the tendency to fizzle out within a short time. Now that 3G is here, it’s time for a new generation of killer apps to emerge.

History is a great teacher and this subject topic is no exception. In their quest for the next killer apps, telcos would do well to study why some services fail and while others succeed.
The one true killer app the telco world has seen to date is the most un-sexy and unassuming of them all. The humble SMS (short messaging service) is simplicity personified but it has generated billions of ringgit of revenue.

Who would have thought that what was first seen as a cute add-on feature would grow to rival even the mighty voice call as a revenue generator for telcos? It can be argued that ringtones and wallpapers are killer apps of sorts, but beyond these three candidates, the list of killer apps is very short.

There were some critical success factors that made the SMS explode in popularity. It did not become a big thing until our telcos agreed on interoperability which allowed us to send SMS to any mobile phone in Malaysia. The fact that every mobile phone came built-in with SMS features was a great help too. Finally, and the most important reason why the SMS took off and never looked back was low pricing.

Now compare that to MMS (multimedia messaging service) which is being pushed as a natural successor to the SMS. I’m sorry, but it’s not going to make it. Even today, not all phones can receive or send MMS. And, it’s still a pretty expensive service to use.

Applications also fail because of too much hype. Two years ago, WAP was on everyone’s lips. To believe the hype, it was the killer app of the century. Companies aiming to cash in on the WAP revolution sprouted like mushrooms.

Within a year, most of these companies were busy licking their wounds. Everyone failed to realize that WAP over GSM and even over GPRS was way too slow to do many of the things being claimed.

There are many more reasons why applications fail. It can be because of lack of education. Quick, does anyone know how to send a Bubble Talk message? Don’t feel bad if you haven’t got a clue. Not many people do either.

A solid marketing push can make a great difference. Push-To-Talk (PTT) is a great service which would have boomed if it had been marketed to groups of friends as a way of instantly keeping in touch. I could also see taxi services or construction companies using PTT functionalities to replace walkie-talkies. Left on its own, without heavy promotion, the very promising PTT service has pretty much died a natural death. But then again, I’m not sure how many of you know what PTT is, so it could’ve been an education issue too.

Have our telcos learnt their lessons over the years? I look at how they are rolling out 3G apps thus far and I can only sigh. I think mobile gaming, location-based services and mobile entertainment have a lot going for them. But only if they are priced right. Do I hear mobile games at a ringgit a pop?