New Zealand Mobile Ops to Launch "Payforit"

New Zealand’s mobile network operators have agreed to introduce a mobile payment service called "Payforit." The Payforit "Trusted Mobile Payments Framework” apparently is based on a similar service, also called Payforit, that has been operating in Britain since 2006, and is expected to support micro-payments, primarily.

The New Zealand service, like its British counterpart, will be managed by accredited payment intermediaries but will not require linkage to a banking account or a credit card. It is likely that the service will aim to attract content providers, since micro-payments for content consumed on the phone are a logical proposition.

Accredited payment intermediaries for the U.K. Payforit service might provide an indication of what sorts of entities might support the New Zealand Payforit.

Accredited Payment Intermediary	Contact	Accredited on
2ergo
Bango.net
Dialogue Communications
Ericsson IPX
24GMedia
mBlox
Mobile Interactive Group
Sybase365
Open Market
Netsize
Tanla Mobile
Oxygen8 Communications
Win
Zong

New Zealand mobile operators launch mobile payment service

Google Considers Yahoo bid

Google has talked to at least two private equity firms about potentially helping them finance a deal to buy Yahoo Inc.'s core business, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Though it is obvious why Google would want access to Yahoo's display advertising business, any such deal would immediately trigger antitrust review.

In 2008 the Federal Trade Commission nixed even a search advertising partnership between the companies. Perhaps Google thinks it could strike a deal to spin off the Yahoo search business, which is the likely source of antitrust concern, and just keep the portal operations.

Google, Private Equity Firms Mull Bid For Yahoo

New Apple TV Coming?

Rumored Apple television Would have to "think different."

Apple might be working on a television, the Steve Jobs biography apparently indicates.

“He very much wanted to do for television sets what he had done for computers, music players, and phones: make them simple and elegant,” author Walter Isaacson writes.

Such an effort would likely have to integrate content sources, create some sort of navigation system and then dispense with awkward and cryptic remote controls.

You'd probably want to use a standard-issue iPhone or iPad, for example. But if Apple follows the example of earlier disruptions, the Apple effort would include a significant content delivery mechanism. It was iTunes that made the iPod, the App Store that made the iPhone, Apps that made the iPad.

And since the whole point of TV is to "watch stuff," any new Apple initiative would have to include a content store of some sort, not simply integration of various input sources.

Jobs's final plan: an ‘integrated’ Apple TV

Wireless Revenue Slowdown?

Both AT&T and Verizon's postpaid average revenue per user growth in the third quarter was slightly lower than consensus estimates.

These trends are prompting analysts to ask whether wireless service, traditionally the telecom industry's most dynamic sector, is headed for a slump. A delay in launching the iPhone 4S probably was a factor.

Nomura Securities analyst Mike McCormack says he is "concerned about the outlook for the economics of the wireless business." McCormack notes that Verizon's wireless service revenues grew 6.1 percent in the third quarter, compared to 6.6 percent in the second quarter.

"We remain concerned about consistent industry deceleration in total service revenue," he added.

Macquarie Capital analyst Kevin Smithen also speculates about whether "some adverse macroeconomic effects [are] beginning to creep through to the carriers."

Wireless Revenue Slowdown?

Groupon Revenue, Income Improve Dramatically

Groupon's postponed initial public offering seems to be a possibility again, and these numbers therefore are significant.

It sometimes is hard to remember that big questions were also raised about whether Facebook or Twitter would find a revenue model, as well.

Good numbers for Groupon

Sprint Changes Tethering Plans

Sprint is pulling the plug on its unlimited data plans for Wi-Fi tethered access, starting November 2011. Unlimited usage will remain in effect for smart phone usage, though. 


If you subscribe to 3G/4G Mobile broadband service or have a Mobile Hotspot Add-on for your phone, you may have received a notification from Sprint that the data allowances for these services are changing. Please see below for details on the data allowances that will begin with your next bill following notification. Visit sprint.com/termsandconditions for other important information.


If you have a mobile broadband device such as a tablet, netbook, notebook, USB card, connection card or Mobile Hotspot device, effective beginning with your next bill following notification, your on-network monthly data allowance will no longer include unlimited 4G.


There are no changes to your monthly recurring charges, on-network overage rates, off-network overage rate, or off-network data allowance. For information on how much 3G and 4G data you currently use, visit sprint.com/mysprint. Find out what you can do with 3GB, 5GB or 10GB of data here.

Mobile broadband plan changes

Retailers Still Not Convinced About Mobile Paymentss

Retailers are an essential partner for developing mobile payments and mobile wallet services, but retailers understandably are leery of supporting the new services until the value is made clearer.


While it is clear that end users, mobile service providers, processing networks, mobile device manufacturers, marketing and advertising networks could benefit, it still is generally unclear what the quantifiable benefits are for retailers, who face a need to invest significantly in payment terminal systems.


That suggests a major conclusion about what it will take to drive retailer interest. It long has been the case that if consumers massively indicate a preference for specific payment modes, that retailers will embrace those preferences to avoid losing business to other outlets. So if the direct value proposition for retailers remains murky, then the ecosystem will have to entice large numbers of consumers to prefer and then demand support for the new features.

In the mid-2000s, Visa, MasterCard and American Express all introduced contactless payment cards that consumers could tap against a payment terminal to complete a transaction. Years later, the number of merchant locations that accept such transactions number 140,000 out of an estimated 11 million overall locations.


Today, the card brands are working toward putting tap-and-pay capabilities, along with offers and coupons, into smartphones. But retailers would face expensive upgrades to their payment systems without assurances sales will follow. A compatible payment terminal might cost between $400 and $500, experts say.

Retailers remain hesitant to move on mobile payments