The next 12 months will see firm decisions made on net neutrality, as governments take a greater interest in mobile media, the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) predicts.
MEF, the media industry’s trade association, expects debates regarding which firms should pay to provide content to reach a climax during 2011. This activity will be driven by growing network congestion due to a predicted 23% rise in the mobile media market.
Governments are already likely to take action to address concerns over the protection of personal data, as well as bill shock caused by in-app billing, the Forum states.
Growing consumer concerns over how firms use their personal data will prompt greater scrutiny from regulators in North America and Europe, while billing has attracted attention following “high profile cases of unclear in-app billing.”
Any regulation of in-app billing is likely to hit the “freemium” pricing model hardest, MEF predicts.
The Forum also forecasts declines in the price of all mobile content, as consumers demand higher quality products. But it states that any revenue falls will be offset by higher sales.
Other predictions for the year include a substantial rise in mobile commerce transactions, a gold-rush of contextualization services, and a shift towards mobile social gaming for casual players.