“Over the past year, there’s been a lot of lip service in the mobile-phone industry about making our wireless networks ‘open.’ The idea, consumer and open network access advocates have argued, is that open networks would let consumers buy any mobile device from any source and run it on any network. This is especially important in the U.S., where handsets work on a particular network—CDMA from Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel or GSM from AT&T. Under most circumstances, your device remains closely controlled by your carrier of choice,” Jack Gold reports for BusinessWeek.
“But in recent months, carriers including Verizon Wireless and AT&T have announced their intention to make “openness” a part of their strategy going forward. It’s a great idea in theory,” Gold reports.
“Yet the question remains whether we are achieving, or even moving toward, open wireless access,” Gold reports. “Are the carriers just creating a PR campaign, spinning their brand of openness for the benefit of consumers and regulators? Well, for right now at least, the claim of achieving openness is dubious at best.”
Gold reports, “The industry has a long way to go before it’s anywhere near open.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “James W.” for the heads up.]