 Wireless in the EnterpriseNetwork World's Wireless in the Enterprise Newsletter, 10/08/07Unlocked handsets and cellular T’s and C’sBy Joanie WexlerNokia has stepped up to the plate to sell some of its handsets in the U.S. (and elsewhere) in ways that bypass the mobile network operators. Most notably, the company is selling several of its N Series smart phones, including its high-end N95 models, through its own online store, online e-tailers and several retail stores. Choosing your handset independently of your network operator is fairly novel in the U.S. Once you get your unlocked Nokia phone (at an unsubsidized cost in the $700-ish range), you pop the subscriber identity module (SIM) card out of your old phone and into your new Nokia device. Or, if you have no existing carrier, you can procure a SIM card from one or more GSM carriers whose networks you might wish to use. Early adopter-types gain a broader choice of handset options than just those available to them through the carrier channel, points out Bill Plummer, Nokia’s VP of Multimedia in North America. This is the type of open access that Sprint Nextel touts with its imminent Xohm WiMAX services and what some in the industry are hoping for with forthcoming 700MHz services.
There might be a gotcha or two when using such unlocked devices with existing U.S. 3G networks, though. Plummer notes that the N95, for example, has an open interface that allows third parties to develop applications for the phone. So what if the features and capabilities that either come on your handset or are loadable by third-party software fly in the face of the terms and conditions of your wireless data plan? It’s natural to assume that you should actually be able to use the inherent features on a phone you buy or in software designed to run on it. But just because the capabilities are there doesn’t mean your carrier sanctions their use. For example, AT&T’s current T’s and C’s say (albeit using veiled wording) that if you use softphone capabilities to make voice calls on its data network and AT&T finds out about it, it reserves the right to charge you 40 cents per minute while on its network and 69 cents per minute on domestic roaming partners’ networks. Plummer seemed unaware of such rules and regulations. He acknowledged that Nokia is setting the stage for the future in which new usage and purchasing models will likely come about with next-generation networks.
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| Contact the author: Joanie Wexler is an independent networking technology writer/editor in California's Silicon Valley who has spent most of her career analyzing trends and news in the computer networking industry. She welcomes your comments on the articles published in this newsletter, as well as your ideas for future article topics. Reach her at joanie@jwexler.com. ARCHIVEArchive of the Wireless in the Enterprise Newsletter. BONUS FEATUREIT PRODUCT RESEARCH AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details. PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE International subscribers, click here. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICESTo subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World newsletter, change your e-mail address or contact us, click here. This message was sent to: networking.world@gmail.com. Please use this address when modifying your subscription. Advertising information: Write to Associate Publisher Online Susan Cardoza Network World, Inc., 118 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772 Copyright Network World, Inc., 2007 |
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