Opportunities in Mobile Data Innovation Abound, Despite Regulatory Proposals, IPI Told
There are lucrative opportunities in communications for companies looking beyond the regulatory impasse on Capitol Hill, speakers said Wednesday at a summit sponsored by the Institute for Policy Innovation. “2010 is about mobilizing voice, data, music, you name it,” said Veronica Bloodworth, a vice president at AT&T. “Customer usage is driving development and we see this in the growth of netbooks and mobility Internet devices.” With plans for more than $18 billion in capital expenditures by the end of 2010, Bloodworth said wireless expansion is AT&T’s number one investment priority.
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Mobilized healthcare technologies are ripe for innovation and development, others said. “We see a phenomenon in mobile healthcare,” said Christopher Wasden, managing director at PricewaterhouseCoopers. “Physicians see it as a means to enhance their workflow. They can see more patients in a shorter amount of time and can deliver care from anywhere.” Innovation in mobile health services will benefit consumers and provide more efficient care to patients with chronic illnesses. “It’s all about the consumer,” said Anand Iyer, president of WellDoc Inc. “They will use [mobile health technologies] if they are something that has healthcare value.” Iyer’s company has deployed a mobile and Web-based diabetes platform that helps patients manage their chronic diseases.
"Nearly every patient who comes into clinics has a cellphone,” said Iyer. “We thought we could use the cellphone to enable a solution that provides a basis for data collection and an analytic program that interprets that data.” During WellDoc’s medical trials in Baltimore, Iyer said doctors were adopting the technology rapidly and diabetes patients were getting better as a result of the company’s mobile platform.
Verizon said it seeks to innovate smart grid technologies in the future. “One of our goals is to reduce energy consumption and the biggest opportunity is in a smart grid,” said Larry Plumb, executive director of emerging issues and technology policy at Verizon. Admitting that smart grid innovations were not necessarily a new concept, Plumb said the means to do so have become more affordable. “We want to take our infrastructure and marry it to the grid,” said Plumb. “This is not something we want the government to mandate. Instead we want to have a conversation with the government about it."
It’s possible for consumers to achieve better control over their individual energy consumption habits, Plumb added. “With new technologies you can change consumer behavior patterns and begin to establish new habits based on concrete information,” said Plumb.