Q&A with Mark Lowenstein, Managing Director and Founder, Mobile Ecosystem

Welcome to PR Vibes, created by Calysto Communications to provide you with insight into the publications, thought leaders and events in the communications industry. Today, we visit with Mark Lowenstein, managing director and founder of Mobile Ecosystem, a consulting and advisory firm focused on next generation mobile communications products and services. Lowenstein founded and led Yankee Group’s wireless practice and is a former VP, Strategy at Verizon Wireless. In this interview, Lowenstein describes what he feels are the mobile trends to pay attention to in the upcoming year. Mark writes a well-regarded newsletter, the Lens on Wireless. Click here to join. Enjoy!

First, some background. What prompted you to form Mobile Ecosystem?  

I founded and led Yankee Group’s mobile practices for ten years and while I very much enjoyed the experience, eventually I came to realize that I wanted to focus less on syndicated research and market forecasting, and more on providing strategic advisory services to C-level executives across the mobile value chain. I founded Mobile Ecosystem in 2002, and then restarted it after my Verizon Wireless gig in 2008. 

What sets Mobile Ecosystem apart from other consulting firms?  

We focus on advisory services for senior level executives in the mobile and digital media value chains. Most analysts have expertise in a particular segment of mobile, such as devices, infrastructure, enterprise, etc. I focus broadly on the mobile landscape, and how it all fits together. I advise companies on market and product strategy. I also do quite a bit of work with companies outside the traditional mobile space who are trying to better understand how they might leverage the particular opportunities enabled by mobile.   

So, even though you’ve moved away from forecasting, can you look into your crystal ball one more time and tell us what you see surrounding mobile in 2014?   

I predict 2014 will be an exciting year! 

1. With four nearly national LTE networks in the U.S., what will be the source of differentiation? Expect some pretty fierce price competition.
2. 2014 will be also critical year for the “survival” of Sprint if they remain as a standalone operator. They will have to do something differentiated and disruptive in the market. There could be additional disruption in the operator landscape, involving Sprint, TMO, and DISH. 
3. The overall economics of how to handle the annual doubling of data on the network is a huge issue and has important technical, policy, and strategic considerations.
4. I am very interested in the combination of fitness and technology, which hits on three areas: mobile, health & wellness, and the quantified self— using mobile apps to track and analyze things in our daily lives, such as our fitness activity, sleep patterns and vitals. This was a big area of focus at CES — but right now these are still niche products without a lot of differentiation. 
5. Mobile payments will have a shakeout. There are many important companies focused on this area, a number of key “alliances,” yet none has found the right formula (at least in the U.S. and Western Europe). Outside of Square, which has done a terrific job cultivating the small merchant market. 
6. Another issue I think we’re going to start having an interesting conversation about is how to manage all of our information. The notion that info, apps, media and so on still sits on the device. Well, this is going to increasingly move to a cloud-based infrastructure, sort of a personal “locker.” How will this happen? Who will be the players? What are the business models? Interesting stuff! 
7. As for connectivity, we are going to see real deployments of small cells in 2014. I think we’re going to see some better tools for how to manage and optimize connectivity, and a more holistic view, across broadband networks, Wi-Fi, cellular, and HetNets or heterogeneous networks.
8. Some form of roll-up in the enterprise. The enterprise mobile discussion has got to start moving beyond BYOD, and toward a focus on monetization of mobile. Best of breed firms will do this. I also think there’s   a great opportunity for someone who figures out an enterprise-grade tablet, packaged with the right capabilities and apps. 

What do you think stood out during 2013? 

I think that the two most important stories in 2013 were:

1. The comeback of T-Mobile and how they set the tone of the conversation. The mobile operators want an alternative to the subsidy model, and TMO really catalyzed the conversation about this. 
2. How success in mobile is becoming an increasing determinant of growth for Internet companies. Look at Facebook, eBay(PayPal), and Yahoo! and contrast those companies with Dell, HP and AOL.  

Over the course of your career, have there been any market trends/technologies that have surprised you? 

I think the biggest surprise trend has been the growth of the need for near constant, ubiquitous connectivity, driven by the growth of broadband. I am also continuously surprised by households’ continued growth in spending on connectivity and gadgets, even in a tough economy. I think we’re going to start seeing some limits on this and am predicting aggressive price competition.   

What’s in your personal crystal ball for next year? Any New Year’s resolutions? 

I live in Brookline, Massachusetts with my wife and two teen-aged children. I am an avid fitness and outdoors enthusiast and in my spare time, have written several guidebooks on running, including “Great Runs in Boston” @ www.greatruns.com. I have a couple more titles, and even an app, up my sleeve — if I can find the time outside of my principal work responsibilities.