Preparing for the Big Mobile Revolution

By Eric Schmidt, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, Google

When I think of Google’s strategic initiatives, I’m aware that they’re all connected to the mobile world.
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We have reached the moment when mobile geolocation and the capabilities of a browser-based phone platform allow us to deliver personalized information about where you are, what you can do there right now, and so on - and make this service large-scale.

But in order to realize this, Google must do a lot of preparatory work on three fronts. First, we need to focus on developing fast networks (usually called LTE). These will be 8-10-megabit networks, approximately 10 times faster than the current ones, which will allow new and original applications, mainly entertainment and social, to be developed for these phone platforms.

Secondly, we should be engaged in the development of mobile money. Telephones, as we know, are used as banks in poor parts of the world - and modern technologies allow us to make their use as financial instruments much wider.

Third, we want to increase the availability of low-cost smartphones in the poorest parts of the world. We assume that, literally, a billion people will get inexpensive browser-based touch-screen phones in the next few years. Can you imagine how this will change the degree of their access to local and general information, their attitude to education? And this will be just the beginning.