Copps Scrutinizing Wireless Industry Open Platform Efforts
Wireless needs to be as open as the Internet if that industry wants to be as “vibrant” as consumer electronics, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said. He spoke Tuesday on a New America Foundation panel. Consumers have a “fantastic world of choice” on personal computers, but not on cellphones, he said. Carrier arguments against open access regulation are no good, he said. Past carrier claims that networks could be hurt by third-party devices were the “same arguments” wireline raised 40 years ago amid the Carterfone brouhaha, he said. Meanwhile, industry-designed open platforms promoted in press releases must be observed by the FCC, he said.
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A “handful” of wireless carriers now pick devices and content, limiting consumer choice and hampering handset makers from selecting features, Copps said. The system is set up so each carrier “can protect [its] revenue stream,” he said. “European wireless designers think our system is nuts,” Copps said, citing a New York Times report. “Maybe they're right.”
Recent carrier support for openness “sounds good,” but the FCC has to do more, Copps said, noting Verizon’s Any Device, Any Apps announcement. “I will be watching carefully” carriers’ open initiatives, and so should the FCC staff, he said, urging a “trust, but verify” stance at the agency. He plans to study industry open initiatives’ price, portability, certification requirements and effects on the wholesale market, he said. Carriers shouldn’t charge high connection fees or use “more subtle” price tactics to keep consumers from buying open plans, he said. And since plan prices and early termination fees figure in handset subsidies, people shouldn’t have to pay as much as subsidy customers do for devices they buy elsewhere and bring to the network, he said. Carriers’ certification processes for open networks must be light, he said: “No one carrier or manufacturer should have undue influence over the process.” The FCC also must ensure that wireless networks are neutral, making sure carriers don’t “selectively downgrade” service for applications, he said.
The commission should conduct a “rigorous investigation” of how well the wireless wholesale market is functioning, Copps added. A proposed wholesale mandate intended for the 700 MHz auction was dropped after carriers said they would encourage wholesaling on their own, he said. The FCC should hold them to it, he said.
Carriers Embrace Openness; Some Skeptical
“I understand exactly what people want,” said Tony Lewis, head of Verizon’s new Open Development Initiative business. Verizon aims to encourage industry development of “new, non-traditional” devices,” he said. Testing and certification for devices use “very minimal technical standards” to ensure a device works on the Verizon network, he said. “It won’t be difficult, it won’t be lengthy.”
A March 19-20 Verizon developer’s conference in New York City will hear third parties’ thoughts on the open initiative, Lewis said, adding that he plans to do “a lot of listening.” He hopes to have Any Device, Any Apps available by year end, he said.
AT&T and T-Mobile officials at the event repeated claims that their networks are open. AT&T always has let customers bring open, unlocked GSM handsets to its network, said Robert Quinn, AT&T federal regulatory vice president. It allows six operating systems and is looking at Android, he said. Google didn’t ask the company to be a part of its Open Handset Alliance, he noted. T-Mobile’s role in the Open Handset Alliance, as well as its MyFaves and HotSpot@Home plan options, shows its dedication to the consumer, said T-Mobile technology policy director Bob Calaff.
Other panelists offered less praise of carriers’ open efforts. Skype “welcomes” the embrace by Verizon and AT&T of openness, but wants to be sure the moves are “more than press releases,” said Christopher Libertelli, regulatory and government affairs senior director. Last year, Skype petitioned to apply Carterfone rules to wireless. Locking iPhone customers to the AT&T network suggests that AT&T is less than committed to openness, said Wall Street Journal columnist Walt Mossberg. Meanwhile, Verizon certification could be pricey, hurting third-party device development, he said. Even if Verizon delivers on openness, said Stifel Nicolaus analyst Blair Levin, the Bell will kill the initiative if it cannibalizes its retail business.