UK operators that allowed their customers unfettered access to surf beyond the confines of their walled gardens saw their network traffic and their content sales grow the fastest. Mobile web platform provider Bango, (AIM: BGO) which helps companies create a presence on the mobile internet, trawled through the data from their total base of content providers for the year and found that Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) UK has risen to the top in off-portal content sales (of course this is one vendor reporting data, so take it for what it is). For years, operators have feared that letting consumers surf beyond their walled garden would damage data sales, but Bango found that the opposite is true. What benefited content providers--including higher pay for their content and encouraging consumers to go “off-portal"--also benefitted the operator.

Aside from having some of the highest payout rates to content providers among UK operators, Vodafone’s clean, consumer friendly WAP billing interface has helped its sales as well as a prominently displayed search box on its Vodafone live! Home page. Bango CEO Ray Anderson notes that 2007 was the year that UK networks moved decisively to support off-portal content sales, and predicts they will offer even better payout rates next year, approaching that of credit cards (via release).

Key drivers in boosting content sales and network traffic include:
-- Putting a search box onto the operator portal for off-portal content searching
-- Introducing flat rate data charges to encourage more mobile web browsing
-- Providing higher price points and high payout rates encourages content providers to run promotions on these networks as they receive a better return on their marketing investment.

• Walled Gardens, Government Intervention And Innovation
• Carriers Vs Content Providers—Battle Or Opportunity?