In each country, another UK GBP20-25 billion may be needed to build networks, develop products and sell service. There is no guarantee that M - Commerce will be any different. In fact, the early signs are not promising. The technology that has been used so far has failed to live up to expectations. After a major hype, users have come back to earth very quickly.
Common criticisms are slow speeds, limited functionality and a limited range of content.
To date, only around 300,000 handsets are in use in the UK, less than half the target level of the operators, and this despite the existence of several schemes to give free or subsidised handsets usually in conjunction with financial services companies looking to push new on-line accounts. The operators are quick to claim that things will rapidly get better. There will be larger screens on handsets which will have constant connection to the Internet. Yet, there are already rumours of problems in implementing GPRS, and even the most successful mobile data technology, I-mode in Japan, is said to have had 33 major glitches in 17 months of operation. These technology problems are hindering take up today and will cause users to lose confidence.