Peer-to-peer (P2P) services are emerging in mobile devices, such
as smartphones, equipped with an Internet connection. In his
doctoral dissertation, Mikko Heikkinen found that mobile P2P
services are disrupting established business models on the
Internet and affecting the development of mobile technologies.
P2P networks are self-managing systems whose organisation and
use of resources are distributed. A significant part of the data
traffic over the Internet consists of data sharing applications
based on P2P networks because these networks enable users to
quickly transfer large amounts of data to other users. The Voice
over Internet Protocol service Skype is an example of how P2P
solutions can change established business models. Traditional
telephone operators have lost revenue since Skype and similar
communication services based on P2P networks have allowed users
to make international calls and send messages at no cost or at
very inexpensive rates. The music streaming service Spotify is
another example of a s