• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, January 4, 2010

Morgan Stanley's Mobile Internet Report, released only a few weeks ago, is already taking on the air of a self-fulfilling prophecy as it finds its way into mobile industry announcements and business plans.

Predicting more people will connect to the Internet via mobile devices than PCs in five years, the report is helping to spark a new wave of mobile hype at the start of 2010 that will likely carry over throughout the year.

What sets the Morgan Stanley study apart from the reams of other mobile forecasts is the stature of its author--analyst Mary Meeker, who was behind the firm's seminal 1995 report heralding the growth of the Internet industry--as well as the scope of its projections (the mobile Web will twice as big as the desktop Internet) and its sheer heft at 424 pages and packed with hundreds of PowerPoint slides.

As such, it offers fresh validation for launching new mobile startups and initiatives while boosting the claims of existing mobile businesses. So don't be surprised to see references to the Mobile Internet Report pop up in connection with just about any industry development this year. Among recent examples is the Dec. 23 release disclosing the merger of mobile app analytics firms Flurry Inc. and Pinch Media, citing the report's conclusion that "the iPhone is growing faster than the Internet did during the 90s."

And in announcing the launch of his own mobile-focused agency last month, Simon Andrews, former chief digital officer at MindShare, pointed mobile skeptics to a video of a Meeker presentation last fall in which she highlighted the report's findings before its formal release. "If anyone doubts the impact mobile is having, 5 minutes watching this Morgan Stanley video will convince them," the message stated.

And if anyone doubts the impact the report will have on the type of mobile growth it predicts, keep tracking those references in press releases, news articles, conference presentations and funding pitches. I've already done my part.