The title is derived from the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith but also inspired by a recent post from Robert Scoble which said the Europe has been losing it’s competitive edge .

There is an expression called .. ‘Maslow’s hammer‘ which says that: ‘When the only tool you have is a hammer, it is tempting to treat everything as if it were a nail.’ In the case of Silicon Valley – that ‘hammer’ is Network effects i.e. Everything in the valley is about free, Long Tail, Twitter and Google etc etc etc .. This is fine at one level .. but applying the same logic to Telecoms/Mobile universally is a ‘one trick pony’ approach. In my view, it only applies to one level of the stack and certainly you would need to consider a more complex/cross stack viewpoint to get a truly comprehensive picture of mobile innovation.

Confining the discussion only to the Mobile Web ignores the wider ecosystem as does viewing innovation in the dichotomy of Nokia/Apple

So, the foundations for my thinking are:

A) Innovation cannot be predicted. It needs the creation of a (commercially viable) ecosystem

B) If we accept that, then we should consider at which levels/areas of the mobile environment is a commercially viable ecosystem likely to emerge?

C) The ability to do so will determine the wealth of nations/companies etc

When viewed in this way, we see some interesting companies who are highly innovative and are also creating an innovation ecosystem around them. Governments can help by creating more enlightened laws (for instance around data and privacy) to help the innovative companies create better ecosystems

So, my list is as follows. In my view, these Technologies/ companies / entities are creating an innovation ecosystem globally and are likely to tilt the balance in favour of specific regions(Note this is a GLOBAL list i.e. I am identifying where in the mobile ecosystem could innovation emerge)

A) Mobile Web and it’s evolution specifically HTML 5.0: Google and also Opera are key players

B) Long tail (excluding the mobile web) : Apple/ iPhone and other appstores(RIM, Ovi, Palm, Google and Microsoft)

C) Networks: LTE specifically Verizon in the USA and DoCoMo in Japan. This could benefit LG and Samsung who are best poised to learn from their USA experience

D) Non phone devices: LTE driven initiatives and also initiatives like GSMA embedded mobile initiative which help create an ecosystem for the wider vision of mobility including devices

E) Femtocells and home gateway networks

F) Mobile only social networks such as itsmy and peperonity

G) Microsoft – especially for Enterprise and for Cloud computing

H) Nokia for emerging markets and

I) Skype

Some notes:

A) Europe’s lead in innovation is predicated on the GSM standard and also in the success of Nokia. Both will thrive. However, remember that LTE unites all networks globally – so we are seeing (for the first time) Japan, Europe USA and Asia on the same basic networking technology. We are also seeing the differentiation shift away from the network and towards the device and services including to non-phone devices.

B) The reason why the iPhone will have a limited impact is: It is not a generative device as Jonathan Zittrain says

Nokia devices on the other hand, are much more ‘generative’ – hence more complex. Hence, from this standpoint, Nokia is like the PC – a shock to many a Finn :) – but it’s a compliment since a PC is an Open device and the iPhone itself may no longer be quite the darling it once was

C) Speaking of Nokia .. don’t read the US press .. read the INDIAN press about Nokia and note that Nokia seems to have created services in emerging markets on phones which are truly ‘basic’

D) Non phone devices could be the next big area for mobile(including smart grids)
I have chosen operators who are deploying LTE early and are creating an ecosystem(hence Verizon and DoCoMo).

E) Microsoft – is strongly placed both on the Enterprise and on the Cloud. It has an excellent record of working with developers and the developer ecosystem and it is well poised to leverage it with Windows 7 and Azure(which extends to the Cloud and hence to mobility)

F) Three of the five top mobile social networks are European(Peperonity, itsmy and flirtomatic). Potentially, this could be a platform for building innovative applications and services

G) Regulatory ecosystems will make a big difference to competitiveness especially around data protection, privacy and other areas

H) It is interesting to include Verizon in this list. Operators like Verizon which were initially closed are opening up. While regulatory pressures drive some of this change, there are also business opportunities to be availed especially in non phone devices. Hence, overall the early deployment of LTE along with an emphasis on non voice devices will lead to more innovation

I) Skype/Google voice etc are relevant for a simple reason that network layer interconnect is hard to do. The first SMS was sent in 1992 and it took about 10 years to get a proper interconnected system going. We are facing the same problem with voice in an all IP world(beyond 3G). Hence, mechanisms like skype and others who provide service layer connectivity could be global platforms for innovation.

J) I am also a keen follower of JIL . Even with any limitations, we see the opportunity to create a viable widget based developer ecosystem covering operators in USA, Europe and Asia

K) Web based innovation is a unique phenomenon. It is often based on zero cost of production and zero cost of distribution. With zero cost of production and distribution comes the ‘free’ model. That is not quite true for the mobile ecosystem. It could apply (with some limitations which will be overcome over time) for the Mobile Web which becomes unified over the Web and mobile ecosystems – but certainly not universally

L) I said at the forumoxford conference(which I chair at Oxford university), If Google does something, we call it innovation – but if the Operators do the same thing – we grab a stick and chase them with it! i.e. there is a (misguided) perception that Operators are not always innovation – we should encourage innovation from Operators and many are genuinely making an attempt to be more innovative.

M) In future, I believe that phones and applications will be sold together i.e. we will see customers buying devices because they support specific applications

N) In future, there could be also bearer aware applications. This is not the same as ‘net neutrality’ – rather it is similar to third party pays model for access(ex: like conferences sponsoring WiFi)

O) The iPhone has been innovative because(for the first time) we have been able to create a business from selling a (relatively) smaller number of devices(compared to say Nokia) – but complemented by selling applications along with it

P) European governments are acting strategically for instance the investment of French government into Gemalto which would be (in my view) a good development since its much more long term and strategic(as opposed to private equity chasing short term profits) and companies like Gemalto could be hubs of innovation.

Q) The European VC industry is not vibrant – and that’s a real problem. Start-ups like layar (augmented reality browser) are few and far in between and which is why as a blogger based in Europe – I encourage them

To conclude, Is Europe losing it’s edge in mobile? Probably .. but only because the rest of the world is catching up – and its not as simplistic as Nokia v.s. iPhone

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