Prediction: 2008 is The Great Open Access Experiment

• Posted: Monday, January 07, 2008
• |
• Author: pradhana
• |
• Filed under: Google, Google Android, Wireless Service

The mantra in 2007 was open access, and 2008 will be about delivering on the lip service. Sprint Nextel is embarking on what will be the industry's first experiment with open access. The operator's WiMAX business, Xohm, revolves around open access and devices that are cheap enough for the consumer to buy outright from consumer electronics players.

Verizon Wireless says in the year ahead that it will open its network and enable subscribers to use devices, software and applications from third-party providers. AT&T piped in and said it already offers open access.

Speaking at 35th annual UBS Global Media & Communications conference Verizon President and COO Denny Strigl touted his company's recently announced plans to open its wireless network to any device (that meets technical requirements) and any application. Strigl said that open access would provide the company with a "phenomenal" new source of revenue because it will allow customers to use all types of applications that developers will produce, which could potential drive lots of data traffic over the network.

At the same time, he said that the model will help the firm reduce costs because it won't be a drain on customer service. "Customer service is not a heavy expenditure on this business but will be done by those that bring services to this model," Strigl said.

Regardless of how serious Verizon and AT&T are about open access, the crux of the issue is whether full-priced devices can make an impact in a market that heavily relies on subsidized devices. You can bet that Nokia will be working hard to appeal directly to the consumer, but 2008 will be the great experiment for open access that will have little impact on the consumer.

On the other hand, Strigl confirmed reports that Verizon would support Google's Android operating system but explained that while Verizon hasn't signed any formal agreement with Google, the company's support for Android would be no different than its support for any other operating systems. [FierceBroadbandWireless]

• Permalink
• RSS 2.0
• 
• 
• 
• 
•