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Subject: The Singapore M-Commerce Rapid Standards Role Model
Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2002 08:47:34 +0530
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From: "Bala Pillai"
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Thamil Innaiyargale,
Notice clued on symbiosis at the highest levels at work in Singapore on
m-commerce. How rapidly the symbiosis has taken place, well before egos
coagulate and well before it becomes a "ego versus ego to kill the whole
platform" game.
Compare that to the idiotic suicidal attitude of most Tamil media on
standards -- forever leap years behind. But we are solving it -- put your
energy behind Tamildom Erumbugal. With bold strategy, proven track record
and a clear vision, we will bring all of us together.
Thanniyai Yaethunaal, Thaamarai Thaana Yaerum. Raise the water level, and
the lotuses will rise up automatically.
anpudan../bala
bala@...
Click on http://groups.yahoo.com/group/erumbugal
Founder, Thamil Innaiyam (since 1995)
----- Original Message -----
From: M G G Pillai
To: SK
Sent: Monday, June 24, 2002 8:52 PM
Subject: [ATimes] Singapore telcos unite in payment first (fwd)
>
> Asia Times Online
>
>
> Singapore telcos unite in payment first
> By Tony Sitathan
>
> SINGAPORE - Singapore could pave the way for the
> telecommunications industry by being one of the first in the
> world to implement a national payment system by uniting the
> various mobile phone companies to offer a standardized m-commerce
> solution.
>
> The three mobile phone companies - Singapore Telecoms Mobile,
> MobileOne (M1) and StarHub - said in a joint statement that they
> would work together with industry partners to develop a common
> nationwide mobile payment solution. This was announced late last
> year, but the real rollout and implementation of the program will
> only commence in the second half of 2002.
>
> "This is the first of its kind in Asia or, for that matter, in
> the world where mobile operators provide a common mobile commerce
> solution to serve an entire country," remarked Winston Low, a
> telco consultant from Axle Consulting (Hong Kong). "Although
> Singapore is small compared to other countries like Malaysia,
> Thailand or Indonesia, it certainly leads the way in developing
> cutting edge technologies especially in wireless solutions for
> the mobile community," he said.
>
> Although there were some initial drawbacks and delays
> standardizing the system and sorting out the problems of
> incompatibility with the different network systems, the Infocomm
> Development Authority (IDA) is confident that it will only be a
> matter of time before this technology becomes a norm in Singapore
> that is used as effortlessly as the short message service (SMS)
> or wireless application protocol (WAP) system already in place in
> the city-state.
>
> "So far SMS usage in Singapore has exceeded all expectations, and
> it won't be long before this m-commerce payment system will act
> as a gateway for other wireless solutions to be implemented
> effortlessly by the consortium," said Vijay Prabu, a regional
> telco consultant from I-Mercury Consulting based in Malaysia. He
> is confident that telcos are taking a right step in the direction
> of offering a wider choice of services to mobile customers.
>
> According to an official from the IDA, this is the first
> collaborative venture of its kind among Singapore's three mobile
> operators. "By providing the right economies of scale and the
> ability to share resources, it would be significantly less
> expensive to implement an m-commerce standard as compared to just
> one operator doing it alone," the official said.
>
> M1 was the first of the three mobile operators to offer
> m-commerce solutions. It has tied up with Yeo Hiap Seng, a
> beverage company, to allow its subscribers to buy drinks from the
> company's many vending machines located throughout the island. It
> also allows its customers to top up cash cards on their mobile
> phones and pay their utility bills through the mobile banking
> services with Citibank.
>
> In order to create more bulk services, the IDA intends to entice
> more merchants to sell their wares over the mobile network, as
> they can now sell to a bigger customer base using a common
> platform. "There won't be repetitive entries made on multiple
> databases on every operator's system. Instead a single platform
> will save development time and lower execution costs that could
> be better spent on offering lower prices to the end consumers,"
> said the IDA official.
>
> Currently, M1 and SingTel Mobile have their own proprietary
> payment systems using different payment modes and mechanism,
> which will become a thing of the past. However, in order to
> provide a standardized system, a shared common database will have
> to be built, supported by the requirements of the IDA as well as
> accepting a universal payment gateway by both the merchants and
> the mobile operators. New and innovative services have now been
> added on to the existing solutions. Even Virgin Mobile
> Communications, the new kid in the block, has plans to announce
> similar m-payment solutions within the next few weeks.
>
> Despite all the hype, StarHub, which was rather reluctant at
> first to be one of the key players in the payment standard, has
> raised a legitimate concern. It charged that so far no critical
> mass of merchants has come on board and that there might be a
> slow pick-up rate among vendors and later consumers. Although
> StarHub has been slow in adopting m-commerce standards, it
> reassured the rest of the participating operators that it is
> still a part of the m-commerce consortium that will decide on a
> common payment solution.
>
> Leon Perera, the managing director of Spire Research and
> Consulting, a Singapore environment research company, pointed out
> the similarities between the creation of a single payment
> solution and m-commerce on the whole as compared with Singapore's
> broadband bandwidth initiative called Singapore One Network for
> Everyone (ONE). "When you scrutinize the success of Singapore
> ONE, you have the impression that there were not enough merchants
> on board in the early stages of Singapore ONE to give it a mass
> appeal to all its Internet subscribers. Likewise, what does
> m-commerce offer to its mobile-phone subscribers? What is needed,
> if you look at the lessons of Singapore ONE, is enough merchants
> and applications that drive m-commerce."
>
> Nonetheless, according to estimates from international research
> group IDC, m-commerce transactions in Singapore are estimated to
> exceed US$200 million over the next year. IDC also reported that
> a seamless and open standard would mean less confusion and
> messiness for all the mobile operators as well as mobile
> subscribers.
>
> Neil Montefiore, M1's chief executive officer, said the
> collaborative effort undertaken by the three mobile operators
> will be a key facilitator for the growth and future viability of
> m-commerce in Singapore. "The creation of a common mobile payment
> platform is fundamental to harnessing the full potential of
> m-commerce that will ultimately determine the degree of success
> that m-commerce will enjoy in Singapore," he said.
>
> SingTel Mobile said its effort will focus on working with
> partners who are committed to simple, secure and inexpensive
> solutions that work without any complications. "The best of breed
> m-commerce applications and payment solutions will be the
> mainstay, instead of expensive solutions that are complicated to
> execute. Among SingTel's offering is its ease of use that will be
> considered a big draw," said Winston Low.
>
> All three mobile operators intend to work closely to evaluate,
> test and ensure the operational, commercial and technological
> viability of the proposed mobile payment solutions. Among the
> building criteria are the provision of an open standard,
> security, scalability, end-to-end solution and payment in
> multiple ways.
>
>
> kk
>
Bala Pillai
"Networking Minds in Halls Without Walls Since 1995"
Founder, The Asia Pacific Internet Company
Sydney, Australia
