The Connectivity of the World is going to Explode

What’s the first thing teenagers do when they wake up in the morning? Ten years ago the answer would have been: brushing their teeth, having breakfast and saying good morning to their mums. Well, nowadays the very first thing they do is “logging on Facebook”, says René Schuster, CEO of Teléfonica Germany GmbH & Co. OHG.

On the panel ‘How the Mobile Revolution Promotes Diversity’ Schuster is feeding the audience with a number of very interesting stats, did you actually know that one out of six people marrying today met online?

Connectivity is changing the world we live in, “we are the last generation of the unconnected generation. The world’s connectivity is going to explode soon”, adds Shuster.

But in an attempt to challenge Schuster’s point, Ina Fried, senior editor at All Things Digital and moderator of the panel, points out that “roaming fees are still very high when travelling, so companies are not making it easy for users to remain online while abroad”.

“That’s true”, replies Schuster, “network companies haven’t got it right yet. But let me tell you that EU regulation is on its way and the industry will be forced to cut off roaming in Europe by 2015”.

We must not forget about the developing world. In Africa 500 million people have mobile phones and, for instance, “the Indian government is trying to put a phone in every women’s hand”, points out René Schuster.  

Furthermore credit cards will soon be history as people are starting to use their phones to do online payments. “Given that there’re more phones than toothbrushes in the world we can clearly see where this is going. I advise kids not to forget brushing their teeth though”, concludes the CEO of Telefónica Germany.