Openness creeps across wireless networks

Following a lot of bad publicity in the wake of AT&T Mobility’s exclusive contract for Apple Inc.’s iPhone and 700 MHz auction rules that demanded an open network, wireless carriers are prying open their networks.
Earlier this year, Verizon Wireless began offering its network to some not-so-typical customers. Tony Lewis, VP of open development, said the carrier launched a Web site in March, which opened for business in June, that lets manufacturers pitch devices to Verizon Wireless to run on the network. Once the device is certified, Lewis said the process moves quickly.
“Tell us what the device does and how it works,” Lewis said. “Once it goes through the team, it will take no longer than four weeks to get on the Verizon Wireless network.”
The carrier expects to host a wide array of unusual and unexpected products. To date, it has certified two products.
“My objective is to get as many devices on the network as possible,” Lewis said. “And not just run-of-the-mill devices, but very unique devices still being created.”
Lewis said some of these new gadgets include a device manufactured by Supplynet that sits on top of tanks for gas, petroleum and food – basically anything that needs to be contained. The device monitors the level of the tank via the Verizon Wireless network. Lewis provided the following example: “It can be used by a tank farmer in order to mitigate moving or filling the tanks at the wrong time. [This is a] huge cost savings because now they can electronically control inventory.”
The other service is inmate tracking. Just like it sounds, this device is designed to monitor and track inmates in a central location.
Built-in openness
AT&T Mobility Inc. spokesman Mark Siegel said the carrier has had an open network for years, although the devices aren’t necessarily directed to the mass market. With 200 non-handset products already running on the network, Siegel said the devices are typically industrial in nature.
AT&T Mobility also allows customers to bring in phones and hop on the network as long as the handsets are GSM and are unlocked. Customers can also buy a SIM card.
“We’ll let you do that, but I can’t guarantee how well it will work on the network,” Siegel said.
This method is also popular with the nation’s fourth-largest carrier, T-Mobile USA Inc., said a spokeswoman, who declined to be named.
“Most GSM phones already can be used on our network as long as they support U.S. frequencies and are unlocked,” she said. T-Mobile USA is also a member of the Open Handset Alliance and is focused on helping spur wireless innovation to provide consumers with more choice. Opening up its network more broadly is also a goal.
“The company is working with the industry to foster an open wireless services platform, which will provide developers with the tools and information they need to make new, innovative experience available to T-Mobile customers,” she said.
Open to the max
Another member of the Open Handset Alliance, Sprint Nextel Corp. has said an open network will be a fundamental part of its WiMAX launch. Because WiMAX is based around devices subscribing to the service, not people, an open network will be a likely and promising possibility, said Bill Ho, an analyst with Current Analysis.
“A critical success factor for Sprint/Clearwire is to foster a pipeline of devices from every manufacturer to gain traction,” Ho said. “This could be chipsets that go into consumer electronics devices to actual devices that you can buy at big-box stores. This is why it was so important to build an ecosystem to ensure success.”