This BOF would be for those interested in discussing the future of the mobile ecosystem as the carrier’s reigns loosen and users begin to demand more compelling use-cases, greater interoperability, and, most importantly, better usability from their mobile devices. As most conference attendees will likely attest to, the business’s paradigm is changing and a lot of innovation—and money in that case—lies in the space between our current model and the future’s.

Today, carriers have a stranglehold on the value chain and, in general, the user’s experience suffers. Developers and publishers cannot deliver the killer functionalities and content user’s desire. As operators desperately cling to the voice-only model as it inevitably subsides instead of embracing innovation and the potential of data services, they are stifling businesses, both small and large, from fully capitalizing on one of the great mediums of communication. A dam is building while at the same time showing signs of cracks. From the growing popularity of off-portal content to announcements such as that of 3 and its X-Series, we are already seeing some evidence of this trend beginning to take hold. However, there is a ways to go.

This BoF will be a business-centric look at the current status of the “walled garden” as well as that of the future of it as carriers will most likely be made to reconsolidate on their strength, infrastructure mostly, and accept a more open form of doing business.