One of the mobile major talking points at Mobile World Congress is the potential offered by advertising, a movement which took a significant step forward with the announcement of the Mobile Advertising Programme by the GSM Association.

The initiative, led by Vodafone, Telefonica O2 Europe, T-Mobile International, FT-Orange Group and 3, promises to offer a level of detail and granularity for media buyers that Paul Goode, senior VP business development, M:Metrics described as "unprecedented".

Goode told telecoms.com that he welcomed the development as it demonstrates clearly the positive direction in which the entire industry is moving.

M:Metrics is using the platform of the World Congress to make three key announcements of its own. First, the firm - along with BMRB - has teamed up with advertising intelligence provider TGI (Target Group Index) and according to Goode, delivering M:Metrics data on the TGI platform has been the single most requested service since the mobile analyst started up operations. The tool is used widely by media planners worldwide, and will help those buyers to better understand the mobile advertising market.

Second, M:Metrics has expanded its footprint into China. The firm has traditionally focused its attention on Western Europe and the US. A move into the world's largest single market was the natural step for the analyst. Figures show data usage in the non-3G market to be predictably low. One figure that stands out, however, is the percentage of consumers who use their terminal as a music player standing at an impressive 35 per cent - 15 per cent greater than its nearest rival Spain.

Finally, Goode explained the results of a recent survey into mobile television that M:Metrics carried out on behalf of backhaul firm Tellabs. The headline figures reveal that the number of first time mobile TV users in 2007 stood at 36 per cent, however, that figure is overshadowed by the 68 per cent of consumers in 2007 who used mobile TV and have since turned their collective backs on the service.

It's not necessarily all bad news though for mobile TV. Of the 68 per cent who no longer use the service, 49 per cent cited price, while 25 per cent cited quality and reliability as the major reason for no longer viewing. Of that 49 per cent more than 60 per cent said if the quality and reliability improved they would consider taking up the service once more. Goode explained that even only half that figured followed through on the pledge it would still represent an estimated $270m. Which, at current volumes, would represent a 50 per cent growth in the nascent content service.

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