AT&T Driving Mobile Open Source Into The New Year
AT&T Driving Mobile Open Source Into The New Year By Eric Everson, Founder MyMobiSafe.com
It’s been almost a month since Leslie Cauley of USA Today quoted AT&T Wireless CEO Ralph de la Vega in saying “We are the most open wireless company in the industry.” These AT&T claims stand as a bold announcement in the eyes of U.S. mobile software developers, who are accustomed to content restrictions that wireless carriers such as Verizon impose. Restrictions throughout the U.S. wireless industry prevent millions of capable handsets from accessing an abundance of multimedia content. In a surprise bear hug for open source, AT&T Mobility is making friends with many mobile software engineers and developers alike. By embracing the open source movement in wireless, AT&T has set the standard by which all U.S. wireless businesses will be judged through 2008.
As the founder of MyMobiSafe.com, the open source movement in wireless represents a great opportunity for developers to drive the industry into the future. Sure, there will be security concerns along that way (which is where we come in), but collectively open source in mobile is like industry deregulation on a private level. AT&T’s move to embrace open source is exactly what the global wireless industry needs. While this is exciting news for many in wireless, don’t expect that juicy iPhone to be grandfathered into AT&T’s open source movements. As de la Vega said, “The iPhone is a very special, innovative case."
It is easy to see why 2008 is being marked as the year of mobile open source. The move towards open source bodes well for cell phone users and third-party developers alike. The days of universal mobile compatibility are on the horizon, which is paving the future for those of us driving innovative mobile technologies.
Hats off to AT&T Wireless!
Your friendly mobile security expert and mobi guru,
Eric Everson, Founder MyMobiSafe.com
Ref: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/wireless/phones/2007-12-05-att_N.htm