Most countries in Europe, specifically the Scandinavian countries
and Finland, are focused on communications and mobility.
Wireless telephony has been part of European life for most
of the past two decades. In these countries, more than 60 percent
of the populations use mobile phones. In many cases the
use of mobile phones is so popular that it has dramatic impact
on the growth of conventional landline phones. Consequently,
mobile phones are replacing conventional phones in certain
households and lifestyles. As such, it is predicted that by
2004, one third of all Europeans—over 200 million people—
will regularly use Internet services on their mobile phones,
according to research company Forrester. As this Internet
fever takes hold in Europe, more Europeans are racing to
route e-commerce through mobile phones. It’s estimated that
within the next two years more Europeans will be surfing
through a Web phone than a PC. The Wireless Internet is
poised to become the most important channel for online banking
and financial services in Europe.
Across Europe, new wireless data services and applications
are being launched. As operators make the transition from circuit-
switched to higher speed data services, they and the market
will provide applications that make use of the resources
available to further drive usage of the network. They will also
have to make a move away from time-based billing and examine
the alternative revenue streams that are available to applications
providers. In Western Europe, 45 out of 57 mobile
network operators in 18 countries, representing approximately
90 percent of all the mobile phone users in Europe, have
already created online portals.