New User Demand Behind Mobile Technology Applications

Estonia, Finland and Sweden are the best performers in mobile information and communication technology (ICT). In a new pan-European study of 21 city-regions, Tallinn, Helsinki, Lund and Västervik stand out as the European leading communities in mobile ICT solutions. The study, called mWatch Europe 2006, is presented today to 3.000 delegates in the European IST 2006 Conference in Helsinki.  

By 80 examples of pioneering mobile applications, the mWatch 2006 book shows Europe's growing strengths in developing mobile ICT-solutions, already snowballing across the continent. The book also shows that demands by lead users and advanced requirements by user communities are strong drivers behind many new mobile technology applications.

The mWatch book identifies leading "mobile cities", where the infrastructure and place management supports innovation in the services. But the book also exposes city-regions in Europe, where changes in the mobile Information Society are slow.
 
Ten years ago, few could imagine Tallinn as a European leader in creating mobile appli­ca­tions for phones and other devices. Today, Tallinn is the overall winner in mobile solutions, according to the mWatch Europe study, followed by Helsinki. Two small Swedish cities come next in the European ranking.  

The success story of Estonia started with poor infrastructure and limited user demands for mobile services. Now, Estonian companies can benefit from top-level infrastructure and advanced user demands from business, government and ordinary citizens putting pressure for new solutions. The Estonian market may be small, but the demand is sophisticated. Global ICT companies, like SKYPE, benefit from the dynamic innovation environment in Estonia.

Tallinn's development into a successful mobility cluster (mCluster) was driven by advanced user-needs and small, inventive companies and boosted by public policies. The Information Society Development Plan outlined principles for improving mobile services for citizens. For example, the Digital Signature Act enabled secure payments by mobile devices. Estonia was early in electronic voting.

The mWatch Europe 2006 reveals and compares the state of art in 21 European cities and regions from Helsinki in the north to Barcelona in the south. The Mobile Readiness Index (MRI) is designed to quantify the innovative potential and critical actions for places to become fruitful test-beds for user-driven mobile solutions in cities and regions across Europe. For the firs time decision-makers have a comparative framework which can influence local, regional, national and European policymaking.

The mWatch Europe 2006 also contains 80 case stories of mobile applications. Taken together, the Kaleidoscope of Innovative Projects offers a comprehensive picture of what currently takes place in the European "mobility market". Focus is given to user-driven projects in operation today.

The mWatch Europe 2006 also contains specific policy recommendations. For example, the Living Labs Europe network of cities and regions could serve as an effective model for involving lead users and user communities in the early design, prototyping and development of mobile applications. Innovations that are already in demand and well-tested among lead users, when they reach the market, are likely to become commercially successful. One policy recommendation is to strengthen public support to local and regional innovation environments across the continent.

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