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Vodafone Chief: VF not a dumb pipe

By: , IntoMobile
Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 at 1:29 PM

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 Arun Sarin (Vodafone CEO ) has said any content providers wishing to launch D2C (direct to consumer) services will always have to work with Vodafone.

Apparently, speaking to the Financial Times, Sarin stated that the ‘unique gift’ of billing secures it and other operators against becoming “dumb pipe” for data – for examples from those such as Google, Nokia, and Apple.

He said: “The simple fact that we have the customer and billing relationship is a hugely powerful thing that nobody can take away from us. Whoever comes into the marketplace is going to have to work through us.”

The original FT article also noted that Vodafone holds valuable CRM data about their customers, plus info for location-based services – which is a fair comment.

What do IntoMobile readers make of this? It’s easy to see both sides of the argument for Content/Service providers working with, or “ignoring” the Operators – but which will win out? Will it be context-dependent? Your thoughts are most welcome in our comments section!

[Via: Mobile-Ent.biz]

About The Author

Ben Robinson

Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.

  • Rex

    Doesn’t this sort of talk highlight the importance of net neutrality?
    I believe that both a company and its customers’ best interests are served if the company evaluates its every decision from the viewpoint of whether it adds value to the customer or not.
    Let’s say there’s a mobile iTunes/Nokia Music Store, that competes with Vodafones’ own offering. How does it benefit me as a customer if Vodafone starts demanding a piece of the action from the rival music stores? i.e., what value is Vodafone adding for me by doing so?
    Let them compete on a level playing field- if their own music store is so great people will come to it of their own accord.
    Dumb pipe for data indeed. That’s EXACTLY how we perceive service providers- just as my electricity and water providers are ‘dumb pipes’ for the same.
    I don’t pay my electricity company a tax for the appliances that I connect, why should I do the same for my mobile/internet provider?