First, with CDMA you can’t use data and voice at the same time – this is HUGE!!!  I can’t tell you how many times I have needed to get online for some information and was able to while on a phone call.  I guess Verizon customers are used to this limitation and they are okay with it.

Second, I expected Apple would develop and release an LTE iPhone that would cover both AT&T and Verizon.   I based that expectation on both AT&T and Verizon moving to the 700MHz radio band, to which the rights for use were acquired when the FCC auctioned the bandwidth off.

I still anticipate an iPhone 4G that will run on the 700MHz or LTE band this summer; however, this could be the first time that Apple skips a summer release.  I don’t anticipate that Sprint or T-Mobile will come online anytime soon; yet I am wrong … and more often then I would like.

What I can say is that Apple continues to surprise me.

iron wil

The small wireless carriers are prohibited from getting the better devices because the mobile providers lock the manufacturer into contracts that prevent them from selling to everyone.  Verizon and AT&T said that they would open their services so that customers would be able to bring the device they wanted to their network or move to another.  However, we are still locked into contracts and carriers because of incompatible hardware and exclusivity contracts.

Despite the promises, we currently don’t see a change on the horizon.

In the other article the small or rural carriers ask the FCC to intervene and disrupt the exclusivity contracts.  These issues affect all those that want to take their iPhone to Verizon or another carrier.  This has a larger implementation that just the little guys that want to bring the latest bling to their networks.

The next change in hardware and services should, I hope, see the creation of a 700MHz chipset that will allow the owner of the hardware to migrate to the best provider for the area they live in.  I believe, eventually, that the carriers will become like the internet providers today and who you have won’t matter as much as the quality of service and the device you have.

Who wouldn’t like to have the iPhone in Alaska or Vermont?

iron wil

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Show notes

iron wil

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iron wil

I have written about this over the past year or more. I would suggest that each of you take the time and see the article and more importantly hit Google’s site and sign the petition.

iron wil

Earlier this year Verizon turned away from the open 700mhz bandwidth, they put up a big stink when Google offered to put in the minimum bid so that another company could sweep the auction. They required that part of the 700mhz bandwidth be open to all devices and applications.

I believe all carriers will do this eventually. Back in my Curse of the Mobile Providers post I covered this in greater detail. The point of the pen is that mobile service should be like computers and the internet, all computers [Linux, Mac, and Windows] can access the entire internet. The only restrictions come from websites that use exclusive technologies. In the same way phones and mobile networks will be the same!

I am excited to see a mobile provider make this move. I expect the industry to follow. Hopefully, this means that within 3 to 5 years all phones will work on all networks. A side benefit should be better mobile service for all phones and mobile carriers.

iron wil

Notes: Verizon To Open Its Wireless Network, Washington Post.