Rich Miner, Google's group manager of mobile platforms, told the panel that he foresees a dim future for ISPs if they can't manage to expand their revenue base beyond guaranteeing access to the Internet. Miner said ISPs and carriers could take a cue from IBM, which has in the past up its software patents to developers and has remained a profitable company.

"The iPhone is an example of a trend and it isn't great news for the carriers," he said. "With a lot of these new devices, it doesn't seem that the carrier is participating in the Web. That speaks to the changing world where carriers have to figure out how to make money through content."

Sarah Fay, the CEO of advertising agency Aegis Marketing North America, said while she was optimistic that carriers and other tech companies could make money off of mobile advertising, it would take a lot of time to convince companies to invest heavily in mobile Web advertising after some of the negative experiences companies had trying to advertise online during the dot-com bubble. The trick with mobile advertising, she emphasized, will be to make it directly relevant to the location of the mobile device. For instance, a mobile device that happens to pass through a certain area could display ads for stores that are having sales nearby.

But even more important than making the ads relevant for mobile device users, she said, would be ensuring that the ads are not overly annoying or intrusive.

"Does anyone remember how they felt the first time they encountered a pop-up ad? Well, we can't do that," she said. "In mobile spaces, we really need to focus on what industry best practices are. There is a lot of work to be done on the carrier side, but the good news is there are lots of opportunities for innovation."