Derek Tam, 36
Chief technology officer
Mobile365 Inc.
Chantilly, Va.
In the U.S., we use our cell phones mostly to make calls.
But to many people in much of the rest of the world, wireless phones as text-messaging tools are more important. In fact, cell phone “texting,” as Derek Tam calls it, is often the primary cell phone application in parts of Europe and Asia.
Tam is the chief technology officer for a company called Mobile365 Inc. (www.mobile365.com), which handles the transfer of text messages between wireless service carriers like Cingular, Verizon and T-Mobile.
“We do the interoperability between networks, so if you’re on the Verizon network and are sending a text message to a T-Mobile customer, you’ll be using Mobile365,” Tam said. “It’s like FedEx. You give us a text message and tell us where to deliver it to, and we get there.”
The company handles between 1.5 billion and 2 billion text messages each month, accounting for 60 to 75 percent of all “texts” sent between networks.
But while quick notes like “cu tonite” or “ur btful” are the main application of text messaging, the technology is quickly becoming a force in marketing.
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It won’t be long, for example, until you’re able to walk up to a vending machine and buy a can of pop with a cell phone text message.
“The vending machine has a wireless unit that clearly displays a phone number,” Tam said. “Call the number with your cell phone, you’ll be charged 50 cents, and out pops a can of Coke.”
The cost will appear on your next phone bill.
And it won’t be limited to vending machines, either. You’ll be able to pay for gas, a parking meter and even groceries with a cell phone.
“It’s using text as a means of transferring cash,” explained Tam. Mobile365 has a data center in Chicago handling these cash transactions for a variety of wireless carriers.
This technology is currently used in Asian countries like the Philippines, Japan and South Korea.
“The reason they use cell phones so much more is the PC penetration is much lower than the cell phone penetration,” Tam explained. “In some countries, cell phone penetration is more than 100 percent, meaning people are using more than one phone. They have the same phone number, but they’re using different phones for different purposes–like fashion accessories.”
Tam expects it will take a couple of years for this kind of pay-by-text to hit the U.S.
And security concerns won’t be far behind. If your phone becomes a type of credit card, what if it is lost or stolen?
“Most [companies] will have fraud protection in place,” said Tam. Spending limits can be implemented, and many carriers in Europe and Asia “monitor high use.”
In fact, “some carriers have banking licenses so they can provide these protection services in a credit card-type manner.”
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