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Porn pumps the wireless net
Tuesday, October 26 2004
by Sheila M. Averbuch


The market for porn and other adult content on handsets will
grow to around USD90 million in the US and USD1 billion
globally by 2008, according to a study by the Yankee Group.

Yankee reckons that many carriers are too prudish and risk
missing out on a slice of the lucrative market because of
misplaced fears. Child protection concerns are real enough
but can be managed it concludes in the report "Child
Protection Unlocks Wireless Adult Content Market."



"US carriers are the latest to discover that half of the
traffic outside their walled gardens is related to adult
content," Yankee notes. "Fear is trumping greed for the
moment, but [adult content and child protection] can work
together -- if carriers can develop a solid mechanism for
protecting minors, as Vodafone UK has done, and they can
safely profit from the opportunity."





Adult content includes chat and gaming services but porn is a
mainstay for many players in the market. Yankee cites the
example of PhoneErotica.com, run by wireless startup PhoneBox
Entertainment, which receives more than 75 million hits per
week. PhoneErotica.com charges users via their phone bill. It
reckons less than 5 percent of visitors to wireless adult
sites will enter credit cards, versus over 30 percent who are
willing to put the charge on their phone bill. 



However, most customers of wireless adult content, especially
in Europe, find services by sending a premium SMS message,
rather than browsing to a WAP site. "Using premium SMS
scenario, the cellphone carrier arguably distances itself
from the content. The carrier can claim that its relationship
to the adult content industry is similar to the landline
operator’s relationship with a sex hotline," Yankee reports.




John Leyden writes for The Register.





The Register
and its contents are copyright 2003 Situation Publishing.
Reprinted with permission.