Operators need to “embrace the prepaid user base for mobile broadband” and offer simplified data access pricing in order to benefit from an emerging market smartphone base that will hit almost 50 per cent by 2017, according to analyst house Ovum.

The company said that the next wave of mobile Internet users will come from “urban areas of emerging markets”. The lack of existing Internet infrastructure and the significant purchasing power of urban residents are driving both end users and service providers toward mobile – and “operators and content providers should therefore step up to help the next billion progress to a smarter mobile Internet experience”.

“The next billion consumers are typically highly value conscious; tariff complexity combined with potential bill shock will deter prospective mobile Internet users. These consumers will expect variety and simplicity in access packages and look for unlimited, time-based, and content-based packages,” Shiv Putcha, principal analyst, consumer telecoms at Ovum, said.

With the installed base of smartphones at around 20 per cent in emerging markets at the end of last year, Ovum forecast that the 50 per cent figure by 2017 will translate to more than two billion devices.

“Operators and content providers now have an important role to play in helping the next billion transition from basic voice and SMS functionality, to their initial steps with mobile browsers, and ultimately to smart experiences on the mobile Internet,” Putcha said.

For content providers, localisation of mobile content services is “essential due to the strong cultural identities and preference for local languages in emerging markets”.

Ovum also said that content providers should partner with operators for billing support.

The fact that the next billion people to be connected to the Internet will come from mobile services in developing markets is a commonly debated theme. At Mobile World Congress this year the CEO’s of Bharti and Nokia claimed device and service affordability need to be addressed as a priority.