Mobile analysts from Informa have predicted that mobile online usage is set to grow to 25 times its present levels by 2012.

While this sounds like great news for mobile operators, the revenues are not likely to grow at the same rate. In fact, it is expected that mobile revenues may only double in the same time period.

Also, mobile networks are not yet geared to accommodate such a sudden growth spurt. This may very well lead to widespread mobile data traffic jams in time to come.

Dimitris Mavrakis, an analyst with Informa, says, “The decoupling of revenues from traffic presented operators with a problem because it deprived the phone firms of cash at a time when their networks were in need of upgrading.” He further informs that the hardware required to build the next generation mobile networks that could handle such high traffic will not be easily available until late 2010, thus further aggravating the problems of mobile operators.

Graham Carey of Bytemobile said that the fact that many laptops and smartphones are always in the ‘on’ mode further compounds these problems. The flat rate pricing which had been introduced to encourage users to access the mobile net, now seems to be having a boomerang effect, as users are using it extensively while mobile operators are not earning as much as they would, if the users were being billed at an hourly rate.

For now, mobile operators are using methods of optimization, like shrinking files, wherever possible without affecting the quality of the download.

John Spindler, Vice President Product Management at network optimization firm ADC, said that the unequal distribution and sudden spikes in mobile data use were also adding to the problem.

The new application, called ROK Promoter, will enable advertisers to not only create and transmit their ads directly to their customers, but will also let them monitor the effectiveness of their campaigns without requiring any outside help.

www.rokpromoter.com

Through the ROK Promoter, videos and images will automatically adjust themselves to fit the size of different mobile screens. It will also be able to handle several different Bluetooth transmitters in various locations and will provide statistics regarding the impact of various ad campaigns on the audience.

“Opt-in, one-to-one marketing, through mobile phones and, in particular, being able to reach customers at that crucial point where buying decisions are being made, is becoming ever-more important and valuable to advertisers, says Laurence Alexander, Group CEO of ROK, “so we set out to make the process of creating, delivering and monitoring such campaigns as easy as possible for advertisers.”

As the initial set up cost of proximity marketing via Bluetooth is relatively low, it has become quite an attractive proposition for advertisers. Licenses will be available to advertisers on a weekly, monthly and long term basis as per their requirements. Advertisers can interact with consumers on their mobile phone by setting up Bluetooth transmitters in locations where they believe they can catch their niche audiences.

Bluetooth marketing had taken a back seat in the past as it required specialised companies to provide services, but with the launch of ROK Promoter things could change quickly.

It is estimated that the Nokia Media Network reaches over 100 million customers worldwide, allowing their advertisers to promote products and services to their target audiences on the premium mobile Internet publisher pages, operator partner portals and Nokia services pages that are all part of the network.

Click through rates for ads on the network are touted to be about 10% which is considerably higher than the average click through rate in the industry.

Nokia already has Reuters and Cosmopolitan on-board and some of the new companies that will now be included in the Nokia Media Network are:

• Agence France-Presse, France
• RTL Mobile, Germany
• Cuatro, Spain
• Grupo Prisa – Publisher of El Pais, Spain
• Unidad Editorial _ Publisher of El Mundo, Spain
• CNET, U.K.
• Telegraph Media group, U.K.
• Trinity Mirror, U.K.
• International Herald Tribune, Pan-European

Business Development Manager, of Agence France-Presse, Otman Meriche says, “Agence France-Presse has joined the Nokia Media Network because Nokia has demonstrated leadership in building a global media advertising service. Our advertisers are looking for brand-safe, high performance media, and Nokia’s understanding of the mobile channel is unrivaled.”

The world’s largest handset maker is also pushing advertisements to publishers’ mobile websites by acting as an ad platform, known as Nokia Interactive Solutions. Their services the group provides include mobile banner ads, mobile coupons, mobile websites, location finders and click to call ads.

Nokia seems to be seriously going head-to-head up against Google in their quest to dominate the mobile advertising market. Like Microsoft, they own the lion’s share of the actual medium used to access the Internet. However, Nokia might have the advantage in mobile as there isn’t any established norm and users’ habits are just being formed, unlike on the desktop where users have become creatures of habit and Microsoft’s battle is much more to change user mindsets than to develop a superior product.