LIVE FROM MOBILE 360 EURASIA, MOSCOW: A panel of industry figures called for collaboration to solve the thorny issues of digital identity and management of personal data.

In a session on security, GSMA CTO Alex Sinclair (pictured, second from left), Digital Trade Hub of Azerbaijan partner Jana Krimpe (pictured, second from right) and A1 Belarus CTO Christian Laque (pictured, far right) discussed potential operator roles along with opportunities to help people manage data and provide services such as proof of identity.

Krimpe said there needed to be broad international collaboration and regulaton on the issue to prevent the creation of a data “superpower”.

“We need to work together to prevent the monopoly on data because it’s really important not to have somebody who really controls a huge amount of data in their hands,” she added.

The three operators in Azerbaijan are able to provide value added services such as financial products using the independently operated mobile identity system as a security standard, a scheme they all contribute to.

Missed chance
Laque noted operators had at one point been in a central position to offer identity services with the advent of the personal mobile phone, but had lost momentum.

“How do we stay relevant in this area as an industry?…Identity is in big data and at the moment we’re not really playing a role in it as an industry. We are latecomers, hopefully it is not too late.”

Laque added there was a need to act as a united industry due to the fact competitors were global data players.

Sinclair noted more regulation was inevitable, but cautioned authorities needed to be careful about what rules were brought in.

He also bemoaned data policies used by some corporations, adding: “Once you’ve given that data away whether you meant to or not it’s out there for all time. The right to be forgotten doesn’t really exist.”