BARCELONA—Following the announcement that Mobile Connect is now available to 2 billion consumers globally, the GSMA’s Personal Data programme hosted a seminar to further unite the industry behind the mobile-based digital identity solution.
The seminar was kicked off in lively fashion by spoken word poet Marshall Jones, who performed a rhapsody that began with the importance of digital identity and climaxed in an endorsement of Mobile Connect.
The event featured a ‘fireside chat’ with Oscar Mancebo, Head of Mobile Connect, Telefonica; Harmeen Mehta, Global Chief Information Officer, Bharti Airtel Limited and Jean-Paul Cottet, SEVP Chairman & CEO Personal Advisor, Orange.
Each representative explained how developing a secure, scalable digital identity solution trumped any kind of competitive dynamic that may exist between Operators working in the same markets. Oscar Mancebo spoke of the how Operators were uniquely placed to develop the solution that would deliver security, privacy and convenience to billions of people across the globe. ‘Consumers are worried about how their personal information is being shared’ with Mobile Connect ‘they decide how their personal information is shared’, Mancebo said.
According to Harmeen Mehta of Airtel, ‘Mobile Connect is about creating your phone as identity’ – a seemingly irresistible prospect, not just for operators but for service providers, whose customers are becoming increasingly Mobile.
Citing Mary Meeker’s 2015 Internet Trends Report, she highlighted how Mobile Connect could have an immediate and far-reaching impact on developing economies. In Britain and the U.S., people who use their phones to browse the web averaged 23%-25%, compared with India (65%) and Nigeria (78%). In her view, the latter two countries ‘are not mobile first economies…they are mobile only economies’. She later confirmed that many high profile service providers, including two of the nation’s top banks were already enquiring about adopting Mobile Connect.
Those attending also had the chance to witness a live demonstration from Jean-Paul Cottet which illustrated how Mobile Connect can be used on multiple devices, by reliably prompting the user for their PIN on Mobile in order to gain access to a service. The demonstration underscored the market readiness of Mobile Connect and served as a reminder of just how quickly the solution has gained momentum.
The seminar concluded with a discussion between Sunil Tandon, Head, Non-Voice Services, Tata; Sashi Shankar, CMO, Idea and Rajnesh Khare, Head – Digital Transformation and Mobility Banking, HDFC, Bank. Again, the principal focus was the extent of ‘communication, collaboration and commitment’ needed to deliver over 2 billion enabled users for Mobile Connect. According to one participant, the Operator market in India ‘used to be known for hyper competition, but it is now known for hyper cooperation…Mobile Connect can help to understand people’s digital persona and therefore help deliver a better and seamless experience’.
Download seminar presentations
Mobile Connect seminar overview
The Power of One – Anurag Wadehra, Apigee
Rocket Internet – Hootan Mahallati, Rocket Internet