Why US Wireless Isn't Wide Open

Geoffery B tips a story in Business Week about why the US cellular carriers' talk about opening up their networks rings hollow. "Even as the wireless industry chants a new gospel about opening mobile phone networks to outside devices and applications, some of the biggest US carriers are quietly blocking new services that would compete with their own. Would-be mobile-service providers, ranging from startups to major banks to eBay's PayPal, have encountered these roadblocks, erected by the likes of AT&T and Verizon Wireless. In some cases, cellular carriers have backed down, but only after inflicting costly delays on the new services."

Comments

That's not what the article is about.

[Lemmy Caution]

The article is about foot-dragging and rejections for some short-code services that compete with the wireless carriers.

Re:Are US numbers portable?

[e4g4]

Umm - as of ~3 years ago, all cell phone carriers operating in the US are required by the FCC to allow numbers to be ported to and from other providers. The same is true of local (landline) phone numbers as of ~10 years ago. It is not yet true of VoIP. Mind you the cell carriers don't actually have to implement it until someone asks for a port - but when they do, they must comply.

Re:The Spectrum should be democratic and FREE

[donutello]

Public deserves atleast a lowcost emergency phone which doesn't need the monthly and yearly contract slavery.

This already exists. Pick up any used cellphone from any carrier. They will always allow you to make 911 calls regardless of whether or not you are under contract. If you mean emergencies that don't involve calling 911, you can buy a prepaid phone card which will allow you to do the same without having any sort of contract or annual fee.

You should try to gain a better understanding of the problem before you try to propose solutions to it.