Mobile Internet spreading the IPL fever globally

The 2000s have witnessed significant changes in global Internet development. Internet connectivity is no longer confined to huge PCs or computer terminals, due to the advent of mobile Internet technology across the globe. The number of global mobile Internet users has been growing at an incredible pace and it is expected to outdo the conventional Internet-via-computer within one or two years.

According to a survey by TomiAhonen Consulting, the mobile Internet users figures have touched 4 billion, of which 30 per cent of all mobile phone users across the globe were accessing Internet on their phones. Whilst the mobile Internet growth story is incredible, techies around the world are witnessing a new form of mobile Internet activity in the recent months – the Indian Premier League (IPL) on mobile.

There is no introduction needed for IPL cricket to cricket fans worldwide and mobile Internet users. For others, IPL is a Twenty20 cricket competition having brand value of about $4.13 billion and is estimated as the second highest-paid league (sports event) next to the NBA League.

The combination of mobile Internet and the IPL has proved to be a great success across the globe. It all started, when the global mobile partnership rights to the IPL was acquired by DCI Mobile Studios of India, along with SIGMA Ventures of Singapore for the next eight years, to develop and deploy IPL mobile applications under all platforms. The official IPL T20 Mobile application for iPhone and BlackBerry devices was launched during March 2010 and soon it was released on the OVI Store for Nokia Smartphone users.

The whole array of IPL T20 mobile applications has been a grand success. Since the IPL mobile applications are entirely web-based applications, the growth of mobile Internet has helped the application to establish a wider user base around the world. During the release, the iPhone variant of the IPL T20 Mobile application registered a whooping 500 per cent sales and download increase within 24 hours of its release.

The IPL T20 application features Live Score Boards, Text Commentary, Audio Commentary, Match Schedules, Match Highlights, Real time video clips, Replays for the IPL matches, Match Photographs, contests, and more IPL-based digital contents.

Today, the IPL mobile applications have recorded a penetration of around 60 per cent in the App market within a month of release, and especially in India and some other developed countries. Another fact is that mobile Internet has been the driving force that created a new demand for instant updates for cricket matches, available anywhere anytime and at a low cost.

However, though mobile Internet is at a grown state of development, users witness a restricted availability of wireless Internet access even in some developed countries. But in India, the story is different. More room can be found to market IPL Application in India due to a large number of fan bases. The market for IPL applications is set to grow as mobile Internet performance improves, and the streaming facilities are optimised according to the digital content for the small screen and the local mobile operators fine tune their tariffs, enabling IPL cricket fans to take full advantage of the IPL applications and its capabilities. And in India, the Government has passed several resolutions in favour of the 3G licensing and advanced Internet technology to mobile devices. As the high speed Internet services reduce the cost of Internet access on the mobile gadgets, IPL application on mobile is considered a boon to cricket fans in India. The IPL application works on all protocols like GPRS, EDGE, 3G, and Wi-Fi data connections and so, has reached the masses easily, since India has an incredible wireless connectivity all over the country.

Finally, mobility of the Internet has given a new face to IPL cricket matches, as it can provide more meaningful mobile Internet service to Smartphone users and other Internet-enabled mobile phone users around the world. This has lead to a new growth path and has enhanced the universal availability of useful mobile applications and mobile Internet that has been critical in the success of popular mobile applications like IPL T20.

(Vijayakumar Radhakrishnan (Vijay) is Chief Technology Officer, Dot Com Infoway Ltd.)