Google, Wireless Carriers and Cell Phones Unchained
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I can pick any gas station I want to buy that expensive fuel that powers our cars. When (if) I buy a new car, I can still pick any gas station. And this I think is how the wireless industry should work. I should be able to buy a cell phone with the features I want at a price I can afford. I should then be able to pick a carrier for that phone. If I don't like one carrier, I could go to another without service penalties or the requirement to go out and buy yet another phone. Currently the Federal Communications Commission is in the process of deciding how to auction and allocate a chunk of spectrum. In this case, the 700 MHz spectrum once used by television. Google has said it will pony up at least $4.5 billion for the auction, but wants a set of conditions for what it defines as open spectrum. The carriers have jumped in saying Google can't have it both ways, either you have a wide open auction with no preconditions, or you don't. The wireless industry should operate on features, benefits and the ability for the consumer to get the best deal they can without being trapped into service contracts or phones that are crippled to work on only certain networks. That freedom of phones and carriers would be the equal to happy motoring for me. |
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Comments (3)
Bull feathers.
The gasoline analogy is flawed ... you can choose any gas station, if you choose a car that uses gasoline. If you choose a car that uses natural gas or vegetable oil, you cannot use a gasoline station. Even diesel cars have limited fueling options.
Google is being disingenuous. This move is about reducing the value of the bandwidth to other bidders, to lower Google's the cost of acquisition.
Will the FCC reimburse the shareholders (i.e. every 401-k in existence) of AT&T et al. for the reduction in the value of their stock due to the handing of this spectrum to Google?
Posted by tomjedrz | July 23, 2007 3:27 PM
No analogy is perfect but gasoline stations is a good one. If I want to be "different" and use diseal or electric or H or steam, I take a bit less than the general market offers.
We the People ought to take charge of our air waves and deregulate the whole darned spectrum thing. We own it, not Rupert, nor ATT nor Verison.
No federal appointee should be able to sell it. 401k's be darned. This is the land of opportunity and not monopoly-land. The rails were replaced by airplanes and no one cried. As trucks and rail compete, let's all have a party and let the best service win and the poorer service providers die.
Posted by Rotarian | August 27, 2007 1:31 PM
Actualy in the uk you can do that, the company i work for and 02 (at the very least) offer sim free contracts. This means that you only have a 30 day notice period, after this you can move on to another network. Of course you would either have to buy the phone on pay as you go and get it unlocked or buy it sim free.
There in lies the reason why most carriers in the uk atleast lock the phones because even on payg they offer them much cheaper than the sim free price (or effectivly the price they actualy pay for the phones.). Letting people move without a termination charge could end up in the network losing too much money to continue to operate.
Again maybe in the uk providers pay to use the bandwith rather than own it, if one company died another could replace them and there are no laws allowing virtual networks from piggy backing onto the real providers either.
Posted by Joshua Bishop | February 16, 2008 8:09 PM