* Handset, mobile OS makers agree that change is in the air
Panelists at last week’s Wireless Communications Alliance (WCA) meeting in Silicon Valley described the U.S. mobile ecosystem as “confused.” One factor is the sometimes-adversarial relationship between mobile handset makers and the mobile network operators that have long been their primary sales channels.
“If Nokia wants an app [on its handset] but the carrier doesn’t, that’s pretty much that,” said panelist Victor Brilon, convergence product manager at mobile handset giant Nokia. To begin to work around this situation, Nokia began selling unlocked GSM phones through its own retail channels earlier this year.
The WCA met last week to discuss the future of mobile operating systems just as the news was breaking that Verizon Wireless intends to open up its network to outside devices and applications next year. Verizon’s move is seen in part as defensive, in light of the many open-access goings-on throughout the industry. It’s also considered practical, given Verizon’s stated intent to move to Long-Term Evolution (LTE) technology as a fourth-generation wireless network.
LTE is a GSM technology. By definition, GSM and its derivatives allow the use of subscriber identity cards for network portability, and apps built to GSM-based standards can automatically run on any like GSM-based networks. So, reason industry observers, Verizon would end up open sooner or later anyway.
In addition to Nokia, reps from industry powerhouses Google, Microsoft, MontaVista Sofware, Research In Motion and Symbian offered their two cents about mobile openness at last week’s WCA meeting.
“Keeping all your goodies in a box to yourself [as Verizon has long done] assumes that all the smart people in the world work for your company,” said Alan Brenner, senior vice president of BlackBerry platforms at RIM, which he considers flawed reasoning.
The panelists agreed that traditional carrier concerns of unsanctioned, third-party applications potentially harming their networks are largely overblown. Nokia’s Brilon conceded that operator customer support is a consideration.
“If an application causes network problems, that ups the service provider’s customer support costs,” he said. “Where do we draw the line” on how open networks should be?
The panelists acknowledged that figuring out the answer to that question will be a primary challenge in revamping mobile business and pricing models going forward.
