I think the porn industry will (and does) make money from mobile because it addresses one of the most basic human drives. Porn's proven that it can do this throughout the last 30 years (and probably much further back - any experts on the history of porn round here?) Much as I like the idea of entrepreneurs sitting round going through stacks of nudie mags trying to work out how to find the killer ingredient for their next mobile service, I don't think that's the way it'll go.

And this doesn't mean operators will be bypassed... the moment you want to bill for this stuff, where do you go? Do you get your customers entering credit card details? Or do you get them charged via their phone bill? The latter requires operator involvement but is way more convenient.

Ringtones and logos are a big industry too, very competitive, and with a reputation for shadiness rapidly approaching that of the adult industries. How many of those companies bill primarily by credit card? Answer: none, despite the fact that they'd be giving 2-3% to CC handlers rather than 50% to operators. It'd make a *massive* difference to their bottom line if they could persuade people to pay by credit card - but they haven't managed to. Why? It's not as convenient for the customer.

And finally: what happens when operators work out how to do co-branded porn, own-brand porn, or to make money by distributing it themselves (mainly by addressing all the child protection and brand association issues)? What happens when I can get my grot easily through Vodafone Live? What will this mean for off-portal merchants of scud? How discriminating is your average purveyor of filth?

Yes, porn will be popular... but no, this doesn't necessarily mean operators will be bypassed.

I think the porn industry will (and does) make money from mobile because it addresses one of the most basic human drives. Porn's proven that it can do this throughout the last 30 years (and probably much further back - any experts on the history of porn round here?) Much as I like the idea of entrepreneurs sitting round going through stacks of nudie mags trying to work out how to find the killer ingredient for their next mobile service, I don't think that's the way it'll go.

And this doesn't mean operators will be bypassed... the moment you want to bill for this stuff, where do you go? Do you get your customers entering credit card details? Or do you get them charged via their phone bill? The latter requires operator involvement but is way more convenient.

Ringtones and logos are a big industry too, very competitive, and with a reputation for shadiness rapidly approaching that of the adult industries. How many of those companies bill primarily by credit card? Answer: none, despite the fact that they'd be giving 2-3% to CC handlers rather than 50% to operators. It'd make a *massive* difference to their bottom line if they could persuade people to pay by credit card - but they haven't managed to. Why? It's not as convenient for the customer.

And finally: what happens when operators work out how to do co-branded porn, own-brand porn, or to make money by distributing it themselves (mainly by addressing all the child protection and brand association issues)? What happens when I can get my grot easily through Vodafone Live? What will this mean for off-portal merchants of scud? How discriminating is your average purveyor of filth?

Yes, porn will be popular... but no, this doesn't necessarily mean operators will be bypassed.

I think the porn industry will (and does) make money from mobile because it addresses one of the most basic human drives. Porn's proven that it can do this throughout the last 30 years (and probably much further back - any experts on the history of porn round here?) Much as I like the idea of entrepreneurs sitting round going through stacks of nudie mags trying to work out how to find the killer ingredient for their next mobile service, I don't think that's the way it'll go.

And this doesn't mean operators will be bypassed... the moment you want to bill for this stuff, where do you go? Do you get your customers entering credit card details? Or do you get them charged via their phone bill? The latter requires operator involvement but is way more convenient.

Ringtones and logos are a big industry too, very competitive, and with a reputation for shadiness rapidly approaching that of the adult industries. How many of those companies bill primarily by credit card? Answer: none, despite the fact that they'd be giving 2-3% to CC handlers rather than 50% to operators. It'd make a *massive* difference to their bottom line if they could persuade people to pay by credit card - but they haven't managed to. Why? It's not as convenient for the customer.

And finally: what happens when operators work out how to do co-branded porn, own-brand porn, or to make money by distributing it themselves (mainly by addressing all the child protection and brand association issues)? What happens when I can get my grot easily through Vodafone Live? What will this mean for off-portal merchants of scud? How discriminating is your average purveyor of filth?

Yes, porn will be popular... but no, this doesn't necessarily mean operators will be bypassed.

I think the porn industry will (and does) make money from mobile because it addresses one of the most basic human drives. Porn's proven that it can do this throughout the last 30 years (and probably much further back - any experts on the history of porn round here?) Much as I like the idea of entrepreneurs sitting round going through stacks of nudie mags trying to work out how to find the killer ingredient for their next mobile service, I don't think that's the way it'll go.

And this doesn't mean operators will be bypassed... the moment you want to bill for this stuff, where do you go? Do you get your customers entering credit card details? Or do you get them charged via their phone bill? The latter requires operator involvement but is way more convenient.

Ringtones and logos are a big industry too, very competitive, and with a reputation for shadiness rapidly approaching that of the adult industries. How many of those companies bill primarily by credit card? Answer: none, despite the fact that they'd be giving 2-3% to CC handlers rather than 50% to operators. It'd make a *massive* difference to their bottom line if they could persuade people to pay by credit card - but they haven't managed to. Why? It's not as convenient for the customer.

And finally: what happens when operators work out how to do co-branded porn, own-brand porn, or to make money by distributing it themselves (mainly by addressing all the child protection and brand association issues)? What happens when I can get my grot easily through Vodafone Live? What will this mean for off-portal merchants of scud? How discriminating is your average purveyor of filth?

Yes, porn will be popular... but no, this doesn't necessarily mean operators will be bypassed.