Standard Making: A Critical Research Frontier for Information Systems MISQ Special Issue Workshop 344 ENABLING AN OPERATOR-INDEPENDENT TRANSACTION MODEL FOR MOBILE PHONE CONTENT SERVICE PROVISION THROUGH THE OPEN CPA STANDARD Petter Nielsen University of Oslo +47 41506058 pnielsen@ifi.uio.no Ole Hanseth University of Oslo and London School of Economics O.Hanseth@lse.ac.uk ABSTRACT Content services for mobile phone subscribers compose a new business area based on the constellation of and symbiotic relationship between mobile telecommunication operators and content providers. In this paper we discuss the development and internationalization of the CPA (Content Provider Access) business model and platform by the Norwegian telecommunication operator Telenor. CPA is firmly grounded on and driven by common interests and incentives among operators and content providers. Through a discussion of relevant actors, we identify different factors supporting and hampering the success of CPA in different national markets. We further discuss how CPA relates and challenges traditional and institutionalized standardization approaches within the telecommunication industry. Keywords: Mobile phone content service, CPA, open platform, standardization, internationalization. INTRODUCTION Predictions of convergence between information technologies and communication technologies describe a future environment of new mobile devices, content services, business opportunities and usages. In this paper, we describe in details the complex process of the coming together of mobile telecommunication operators (MTO) and content providers. Together, they enable economically sustainable provision of content services to mobile phones. We discuss how these different actors manage to develop a relationship with common incentives and drivers, enabling an open service environment with the CPA (Content Provider Access) business model. In particular we focus on how this process has unfolded in the context of different countries and cultures, as well as how one MTO has pursued to expand CPA to their international portfolio of MTOs. By offering their expertise and experience in the creation of a transparent business model, MTOs are currently not simply trying to get a free ride on reselling content, but also to create a common and open market for content providers. The MTOs’ implementations of the CPA business model enable all content providers to deliver content to any mobile phone subscribers in their national market. At the same time, the MTOs provide the content providers the billing services need for the content services. The MTOs make their value chain accessible to content providers through this arrangement based on a revenue sharing transaction model in return. Enabled by CPA, content providers reach economies of scale through easy access to the market, a viable billing solution as well as a possibility to brand through the use of short-codes (phone numbers with only four digits). At the same time, the content providers are able to what the MTOs are not: provide innovative services related to entertainment and impulse more than utility. At the same time they have easy and economical viable access to marketing channels.