Informa Telecoms and Media has released a report claiming that for adult content to reach its predicted market value of US$2.34 billion by 2010 it will require mobile phone carriers and content providers working with regulators in order to determine solid controls and age verification procedures.
“The key to turning erotic mobile content into a sustainable revenue stream is to adopt a responsible approach, making sure subscribers who wish to view such content are age verified and that those providers who are looking to make a quick buck are squeezed out of the equation”, said Daniel Winterbottom, senior research analyst at Informa and author of the report.
The release goes on to laud the efforts of the British telco industry in self-regulating adult content, and points out that the introduction of age-verification systems has resulted in an increase in traffic for adult content rather than stifling usage levels. The generally accepted reason is that consumers prefer using services they have a high degree of confidence in, and regulation is a part of that.
Telcos in Italy (and around the world) are also banding together to regulate the industry before the government does, but so far US telcos have been unconcerned with the market. This is because they have a “walled-garden” approach to mobile content…but of course those walls are currently under siege by consumer demand and won’t stand much longer, at which time US telcos will find their customers using adult services and they’ll have to do something about it…
Related stories:
–Adult Content Restriction A Boon For Providers
–SKT Indicted for Circulating Obscene Video Clips to Minors
–UPDATE: Australia Outlaws Mobile Porn
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