Worst of the Week: Open up to openness

Hello!
And welcome to our Thursday column, Worst of the Week. There’s a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCRWireless.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way. We hope you enjoy it!
And without further ado:
“Openness” is one of the best buzzwords to hit the wireless industry in a while. Two years ago it was “MVNO,” and last year it was “mobile TV.” Now, it’s all about being “open.” I’m sure openness is an excellent trait for those with nothing to hide.
The latest push for “openness” got its start with Skype’s petition for wireless carriers to follow the Carterphone directive and open their networks to all devices and applications. The idea was to bring wireless network operators under the same connectivity scheme applied to old Ma Bell.
Of course, that didn’t really go anywhere, but then Google reared its $150 billion head and began calling for “open” networks. Fast forward a few months and the FCC set “open” requirements on a third of the 700 MHz spectrum it auctioned, and Verizon Wireless announced an “open” initiative that the rest of the nation’s carriers thought was significant enough to warrant responses along the lines of “we already do that.”
This all comes as Nokia strives to make the Symbian OS more open and the FCC opens hearing on early termination fees and rural carriers complain that exclusive handsets should be opened up to the rest of the market.
So what’s my point? My point is that there is a big gap between the true principle of openness and the “openness” espoused by the wireless industry. What do I mean by that? Take these examples:
–Try finding out what the average hold time is for customer service at your carrier.
–Ask your carrier if they outsource their customer care call centers, and if so, where.
–See if you can figure out the exact amount that your carrier spent subsidizing your phone. Now see if you can figure out how much of your monthly service fee goes toward recouping that subsidy.
–And finally, try to find out whether your carrier spends more money advertising how extensive and reliable its network is or more money on actually building out and testing that network.
Now, I know that many of these issues are kept secret in an effort to thwart competitors (I guess). But my point is that the wireless industry’s definition of “openness” is parsed in corporate jargon and has nothing to do with the kind of openness that actually matters.
And really, what’s so bad about opening up? I suspect that the nation’s wireless carriers track the number of calls that their networks drop – would the world end if they published this number to customers? Or what if the nation’s carriers offered two pricing options on handsets: a lower, subsidized purchase price that coincided with a slightly higher monthly fee, and a higher initial price that tied to a lower monthly fee? Would customers revolt in droves?
Of course, openness is never simple. Openness requires details and explanations, and perhaps wireless is complicated enough already. Indeed, the handset pricing on AT&T Mobility’s Web site includes a “retail” price, a “2-yr contract price” as well as “online discounts” and “mail-in rebates via AT&T promotion cards.” That’s not to mention the “$25 Gas Cash Card,” whatever that is.
So perhaps openness is an excellent theoretical concept, but inevitably gets muddled in execution. After all, I used to wet the bed, and no one wants to know that.
OK! Enough of that.
Thanks for checking out this Worst of the Week column. And now, some extras:
–Only one extra this week, but it’s a good one (it’s a plug for RCR Wireless.com!): Scroll down a little more and you should see a new feature for our Web site that will allow you to comment on articles and columns like this one. I have very much enjoyed getting emails from Worst of the Week readers, and now I’m pleased to offer readers the opportunity to comment directly onto this page, and share their thoughts with other readers. However, if anyone posts a comment that I don’t agree with, or is in any way negative toward me, I will delete it immediately and file a lawsuit against you and your mother. (I’m just kidding on that last bit . or am I?) And, of course, you’re still welcome to send me an e-mail at mdano@crain.com.