AT&T reopens its open network

What's more open than open? Wide-open!

USA Today ran a story Thursday morning with the headline "AT&T flings cellphone network wide open." The story quoted AT&T Mobility President Ralph de la Vega as saying: "You can use any handset on our network you want. We don't prohibit it, or even police it."

Sounds like a dramatic change in policy, right? Perhaps in response to recent moves from Verizon and Google to promote open networks ahead of the bidding on the 700MHz spectrum auction? Well, actually, no. It's how AT&T's network has always worked.

AT&T falls into the GSM school of thought in the mobile phone business. It's the predominant network technology, used by more than 80 percent of the phones in the world. You can argue the technical merits of download speeds and range of GSM and its competitor, Qualcomm's CDMA, all you want, but there's one nice thing about GSM. It stores your phone number and the related data on something called a subscriber identity module (SIM), so you can take the SIM card and switch it into another phone, or take your phone and switch to a different network with a new SIM card.

Anyone who wants to sell a GSM phone is required to use the SIM card technology. As long as it's a GSM-compatible phone, you can bring a phone you bought through T-Mobile or other carriers to AT&T's network. You can buy GSM phones on eBay or Craigslist and get them hooked up on AT&T's network. You can take your AT&T GSM phone to London and get service.

AT&T may not actively promote that, but it's hardly new. What is new is the desire of wireless carriers to be seen as the openest (yes, I know that's not exactly a word) player on the block. That may be because of the push by the FCC to require carriers on the 700MHz spectrum to provide open access to their networks. Or it might be to get in on the love being shown Verizon and Google for their embrace of "openness."

However, it's just an exercise in marketing and public relations, and not a substantial shift in policy. And really, any claim by AT&T that "we are the most open wireless company in the industry," as de la Vega said, is kind of silly considering that you're not authorized to use an iPhone on any other network in the U.S., even if you pay to terminate your two-year contract.

[lordeagle]

Two Things

1. As a journalist (even online), I believe it is your duty to promote correct vocabulary and grammar. As such "openest" is not only "not exactly a word", it's not a word AT ALL. How hard was it to write "most open"?

2. The iPhone won't work on other networks IF YOU BUY IT IN THE States, because of a deal between AT&T and Apple. I'm sure those officially unlocked iPhones from Germany or France work nicely and other providers networks in the US (GSM networks of course).

"Reopens" also suggest that the AT&T network had been "closed" at some point, which is misleading. They just want the people to know that what Verizon is doing is not a "revolution" since they've been open for a long time. As a matter of fact I believe being an open network is inherent to using GSM technology.

[Tom Krazit]

Relax

1. Is this my sophomore English teacher? Every now and then, a tongue-in-cheek tweaking of the English language is not going to result in the downfall of society; it's not like I tried to pass it off as an actual word.

2. This discussion is only about AT&T, and their degree of openness compared to the rest of the wireless industry. Not Apple. AT&T doesn't operate in Europe. You can't buy an iPhone from AT&T in Europe, locked or unlocked. Therefore, Orange can claim they are more open than AT&T, but the reverse suggestion is silly, which is what I said.

3. (You really had three things) The headline is a joke. "Reopens their open network" suggests that the network was always open. "Reopens their network" would suggest it was once closed, but that's not what I wrote.

Thanks for reading the story.

[aka_tripleB]

Let me add some crap

"Openest" actually is a real word. Sure, I've only found it in the Webster dictionary, but it's one of the more respected ones. Now, you'll probably won't, but I don't think you had input on whether or not it was to begin with, so it'll get to keep it's status. And if you go to Webster.com, it will even give you the proper pronunciation (\ˈōp-nəst, ˈō-pə-\) with a sound clip of how it sounds.

[csmith2050]

As far as buying AT&T phones from Europe, you would be hardpressed to find any European phone that has both of the American bands (or frequencies) of 850 and 900. Most either have one or the other or none of the above. Since different parts of the United States have only one of the two frequencies, you phone may work in one state or city and not in another.

Just my 2 cents as an AT&T sales rep.

[jacomo]

AT&T and 700Mhz

Correction: The FCC does not require the Lower Band Spectrum in the auction to be OPEN, only the Upper Band C Block.Plus AT&T Walled Garden is not open to applications only other GSM phones.
AT&T has done an end run on everyone by buying a major chuck of the Lower Band C Block (Aloha Partners) and will dominate the bidding for the Lower Band A Block (maybe some B Block too) as they fill in their missing License for a Nationwide Network.

Jim (aka Jacomo)

[Ronlap]

Open apps on AT&T

at&t's network is not walled. If it were I couldn't use epocrates, WorldMate, Directory Assistance, Snapper Mail, Currency, and dozens of other applications that access their own servers via the at&t network.

[csmith2050]

You tout AT&T for not making a change...but, alas, you are wrong.

Yes, you could unlock a phone and throw your SIM card in it. For most, this would work when making a phone call. But before the change to becoming an open network, MANY of the other features of the phones did NOT work. Granted, it was different features that worked on different unlocked phones, but, for instance, if you had unlocked a T-Mobile Sidekick (most noted for the full QWERTY keyboard and very popular among teen "texters") and stuck your AT&T SIM card in there...you couldn't send or receive text messages. Other issues such as multimedia messaging, internet browsing, and others were not compatible, and so, yes, technically any GSM network should technically work with an unlocked phone, but until this point, AT&T could not guarantee that all of the features and services that you're paying for would work.

I share this as an AT&T sales rep who has had MANY experiences dealing with issues of unlocked phones on the AT&T network prior to and after the "change" to an open network.

Before, you really had no assurance that the unlocked phone that you bought off eBay would work 100% with your network. The consumer assumed all the risk.

Now, AT&T is taking on that risk, promising you a network that is completely compatible with unlocked U.S. GSM phones.

That, in my opinion, is quite a change indeed.