How did (m.Net) start?
The genesis of m.Net occurred following the T2 sale of Telstra back in 2001. At that time the federal government used some of the money it received from the float to establish the Advanced Network Program, which offered significant grants to encourage research, development and innovation in the telecommunications industry. m.Net was fortunate to be one of the 3 successful applicants and the only one to look at mobile telecommunications. Its task was to stimulate the development and commercialisation of advanced mobile services in Australia.
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Has the original purpose for the m.Net partnership changed over the last 6 years?
Unlike today, back in 2001 mobile communications meant operating on slow 2G networks, which were really only suitable for voice and SMS messaging. m.Net's original purpose was based around infrastructure, i.e. investigating and looking at opportunities for using faster 3G networks.
We established the first 3G network in the southern hemisphere (located in the Adelaide CBD) and also rolled out a distributed WLAN network, which was a world first at the time.
So the company was at the cutting edge of advanced mobile network development. However, we soon realised that once the major carriers started rolling out their own 3G networks that they would soon overtake m.Net's position and that the opportunities for a small mobile network operator would be limited.
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So just how have you managed to move from a largely government funded partnership to a successful commercial operation?
We knew we had good relationships with our consortium partners and with other mobile companies in Australia and internationally, we also had a lot of research on what was working overseas and what we thought would work in Australia. However the problem for us was that our expertise was in an area that wasn't yet available - i.e. 3G
Consequently we made a conscious decision to take a backward step and get involved in other less advanced technologies such as SMS. Our logic was that SMS would allow us to build commercial experience and a reputation in the mobile space and position us to capitalise on the introduction of advanced networks when they were eventually rolled out.
m.Net was then able to go to clients and not only provide SMS services but also articulate a vision where we could assist them developing advanced mobile services and take their brands into the next generation of the mobile internet.
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So where to from here for the m.Net partnership?
Every indication is that the mobile internet is going to take off in Australia and we think there will be a concerted shift towards companies wanting a presence in the mobile space. In particular m.Net's focus is currently centred on expansion into Mobile Marketing and Mobile Social Networking both in Australia and internationally. We see no reason why an Adelaide based company, such as m.Net, should not compete on the world stage with its mobile products and services.
