Vodafone Live! Reaches Milestone

Vodafone Live!, the data platform of Vodafone analogous to iMode or GetItNow, has hit a significant milestone by its first birthday. Live! has over 3 Million active data users since launching a year ago. Despite the success, some analysts correctly point out that the 3M users are spread across 13 different national Vodafone markets, and that actual penetration rates for the subscription-fee-free service among Vodafone customers is only 5% and 3% in the UK and Germany respectively. A more interesting aspect of the Live! growth, in my opinion, is the licensing of Live! to other non-Vodafone controlled carriers like SFR in France and Swisscom. These smaller carriers don't have the clout to build their own data service platforms, and get handsets with customized functionality (this was the subject of a July post). We've seen it with DoCoMo, SK Telecom, and now Vodafone. Expect a greater number of inter-carrier alliances and data platform licensing deals going forward.

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