Premium rate culture: The new business of mobile interactivity

Abstract

This paper considers a neglected but crucial aspect of the new business of mobile interactivity: the premium rate data services industry. We provide an international anatomy of this industry model, and the ways in which it has been used to capitalize upon the surprising success of short message service (SMS) to provide a basis for the development of consumer markets for mobile data services. We situate this analysis within a wider consideration of the role of premium rate culture in the social shaping of interactivity in convergent media. Specifically, we look at how premium rate services are being constructed in relation to telecommunications, television, and the Internet. We conclude that although premium rate culture has rejuvenated innovation in broadcast television it may potentially constrain the interactive potential of the mobile Internet.