FEATURE: On the Hot Seat with RealNetworks' Rob Glaser

It takes quite a bit of self-assurance to suggest mobile operators rethink the pricing of their mobile data plans. But that's exactly what Rob Glaser--founder, chairman and CEO of RealNetworks--did at a recent Rutberg & Co. conference when he proposed that carriers bundle their data services instead of the current a la carte pricing scheme. Sue Marek, editor-in-chief of FierceMobileContent, talked to Glaser about his proposal and whether he thinks it will gain traction with operators.  

FierceMobileContent: At a recent Rutberg & Co. conference you said that you thought wireless carriers should bundle their data plans with other services. Can you tell me more about this theory?  

Glaser: We work closely with mobile operators around the world. We have a set of services--ringback tones, music on demand and video on demand--and these services are per-subscriber one-time offerings. We noticed that carriers are starting proliferate a number of content offers-four or five or six different choices. Offers such as MediaFLO, video, music or just text messaging.

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