Entrepreneurs, such as Karl Ahmed (a Muslim), are flourishing in Britain. Thanks to its open-market structure, Britain now has more entrepreneurs than any other country in Europe, and has more than even Japan.
It's an example that other European countries, such as France, might want to try and follow.
Business Insight: Mark Tran on how British entrepreneurs have created a new sector around mobile phone (cellphone) networks.
The rise of a new mobile phone sectorBy Mark Tran / Technology 09:30am
What does mobile phone technology have to do with catching mice and rats?
A company called Wyless has added a 21st century twist to the venerable mousetrap by installing a chip in the trap. The chip, connected to a mobile phone network, alerts the exterminator company when a rodent has been caught, so the dead creature can be collected and disposed of.
The wireless pied piper, as it's known, is just one of the ideas devised by Wyless, a company founded by an entrepreneur Karl Ahmed two years ago. Wyless provides the technology for machines to talk to other machines.
In another example of what it does, Wyless allows a vending machine to send an alert when it needs filling. Mr Ahmed predicts that Wyless sales will top £10m by the end of next year.
Wyless is featured on a list - 50 Mobile Companies To Watch - just published by 02, the mobile phone operator. There is not a mobile operator, handset manufacturer or O2 partner in sight. The 50 constitute a whole new sector that has grown around mobile phones, representing a £1bn industry.
The list includes companies such as Babel, a UK based games design and testing company, C3, a mobile voting, betting and interactive TV services specifically targeting Africa, and Dialogue, a ticketing and billing specialist.
That this new sector is growing so fast in the UK is no accident. Eighty five per cent of UK households own mobile devices, accounting for 63 million handsets; more than one for every citizen. But only 40% of households have a PC, and there are only six million broadband subscribers.
Apart from the high penetration of mobile phones throughout Britain, the open market structure in the UK has allowed entrepreneurs such as Mr Ahmed to flourish. Mike Short, a vice-president for research and development at 02, says the UK has managed to create an environment that has encouraged innovation.
Mr Short added: "The global market for innovative and useful mobile technology is vast – and it’s a market that the UK’s leading mobile lights are rushing to service. What this list clearly illustrates is that, beyond the household names, there is a host of exciting and emerging companies, which are spawning content and services driving mobile to the next level.”
The Department of Trade and Industry has cottoned to the importance of this new sector because of the potential for exports. Mobile technology may well be one of the world’s most exportable commodity.
With nearly 2 billion mobile users in more than 210 countries, the global market for innovative and useful mobile technology is vast. With these new mobile companies, the UK could become a top exporter.
Nearly a third of the companies on the list already have a significant international presence – not just in traditional western markets such as the US and Europe, but also in countries where mobile is leapfrogging fixed-line communications.
Their customers are spread across Latin America, Africa, and Asia, giving these new companies access to some of the world’s most important growth markets.
The 50 To Watch list includes eight entrepreneurs under 30, four women and more than a handful of veterans who have moved from IT to dotcoms and are now on their third-generation venture.
guardian.co.uk
It's an example that other European countries, such as France, might want to try and follow.
Business Insight: Mark Tran on how British entrepreneurs have created a new sector around mobile phone (cellphone) networks.
The rise of a new mobile phone sectorBy Mark Tran / Technology 09:30am
What does mobile phone technology have to do with catching mice and rats?
A company called Wyless has added a 21st century twist to the venerable mousetrap by installing a chip in the trap. The chip, connected to a mobile phone network, alerts the exterminator company when a rodent has been caught, so the dead creature can be collected and disposed of.
The wireless pied piper, as it's known, is just one of the ideas devised by Wyless, a company founded by an entrepreneur Karl Ahmed two years ago. Wyless provides the technology for machines to talk to other machines.
In another example of what it does, Wyless allows a vending machine to send an alert when it needs filling. Mr Ahmed predicts that Wyless sales will top £10m by the end of next year.
Wyless is featured on a list - 50 Mobile Companies To Watch - just published by 02, the mobile phone operator. There is not a mobile operator, handset manufacturer or O2 partner in sight. The 50 constitute a whole new sector that has grown around mobile phones, representing a £1bn industry.
The list includes companies such as Babel, a UK based games design and testing company, C3, a mobile voting, betting and interactive TV services specifically targeting Africa, and Dialogue, a ticketing and billing specialist.
That this new sector is growing so fast in the UK is no accident. Eighty five per cent of UK households own mobile devices, accounting for 63 million handsets; more than one for every citizen. But only 40% of households have a PC, and there are only six million broadband subscribers.
Apart from the high penetration of mobile phones throughout Britain, the open market structure in the UK has allowed entrepreneurs such as Mr Ahmed to flourish. Mike Short, a vice-president for research and development at 02, says the UK has managed to create an environment that has encouraged innovation.
Mr Short added: "The global market for innovative and useful mobile technology is vast – and it’s a market that the UK’s leading mobile lights are rushing to service. What this list clearly illustrates is that, beyond the household names, there is a host of exciting and emerging companies, which are spawning content and services driving mobile to the next level.”
The Department of Trade and Industry has cottoned to the importance of this new sector because of the potential for exports. Mobile technology may well be one of the world’s most exportable commodity.
With nearly 2 billion mobile users in more than 210 countries, the global market for innovative and useful mobile technology is vast. With these new mobile companies, the UK could become a top exporter.
Nearly a third of the companies on the list already have a significant international presence – not just in traditional western markets such as the US and Europe, but also in countries where mobile is leapfrogging fixed-line communications.
Their customers are spread across Latin America, Africa, and Asia, giving these new companies access to some of the world’s most important growth markets.
The 50 To Watch list includes eight entrepreneurs under 30, four women and more than a handful of veterans who have moved from IT to dotcoms and are now on their third-generation venture.
guardian.co.uk