This analyst angle at RCR Week brought up a few niggling points with me. For some in the mobile industry, there is some fear that giving customers access to everything and anything on the *wireless* Internet will bring some kind of gloom and doom. That is hogwash. I say, give mobile subscribers -- who pay for an unlimited or pay-per-use data plan, of course -- free reign on whatever they want to access.
Why would a mobile carrier want to limit the material customers can access from their handsets? Broadband subscribers can do this -- so what makes mobile carrier networks so special?
I will say this -- I would change carriers instantly if there was *any* limit on where I could go on the mobile Internet, since I use it for just about everything these days with a 3G handset (which makes the experience pretty nice). The more carriers try to control the experience for users (in the wrong way, of course), the more customers are going to get irked as time goes on.
1. I agree and I think it would be really cool from a user point of view. I think the main reason the carriers are resistant is how telcoms are just conduits now and there isn't much for them to do anymore to provide shareholders with bigger returns. That's why telcoms wanted to end net neutrality so they could be more like the carriers and hopefully monetize every little transaction.
It's going to take a pretty popular off-deck app to bring about the kind of pressure needed for a carrier like verizon to unclench. I was hoping that a mobile youtube would have been that app. I wish youtube would still build an off-deck mobile portal but i'm sure the deal with verizon would preclude that. Aside from reading industry blogs and news, I really don't see your average joe right now want more then just a cool looking phone with a few bells and whistle they can occasionally use when bored or stuck waiting.
Posted at 1:37PM on Dec 19th 2006 by Shawn McCollum