Benefits of Expansive Mobile

Brian Williamson, in a paper for Ericsson, has examined the benefits of expansive mobile.

The pivot to smartphones, apps and mobile data has been underway for just over a decade, with internet companies announcing ‘mobile first’ strategies from 2010 and with a growing number of applications now mobile only. Policy priorities need to shift too, to reflect a mobile first world. In relation to mobile network deployment and development of connectivity dependent apps Europe lags the US and North East Asia. Yet expansive mobile, mobile connectivity that is ubiquitous, capable and can be tailored for different applications, is a general purpose technology that has the potential to raise productivity growth and lower the cost of achieving policy goals including mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and caring for an ageing population. Spectrum availability and improved incentives for infrastructure investment are required for Europe to build out expansive mobile, whilst a reappraisal of policy throughout the economy is required to fully capture the potential for innovation and use of expansive mobile to deliver better outcomes.