From Washingtonpost.com
Gadgeted and Geared, He Says, to Openness
TOOLBOX   Resize
 Save/Share +
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
|
AT&T Mobility chief executive Ralph de la Vega's got a heavy bag. On a daily basis, he carries an iPhone, BlackBerry and BlackJack.
"But the problem is all those chargers; I have to carry four different chargers for the phones, which makes my bag really heavy," he said during a conversation with me Wednesday after a speech at the CTIA Wireless conference.
His super-gadgeted lifestyle didn't surprise me. He is a wireless chief, after all. And one former Post tech reporter told me how he'd ribbed her back in 2004 for carrying around a very outdated phone -- a joke he likes to repeat to this day. In our interview, he showed me how he uses Google Maps, eBay and Yahoo Go on his BlackBerry.
His use of many devices and applications underscores his argument that AT&T's wireless business is practicing open network principles. The idea is to invite all manufacturers to pitch ideas for new wireless technologies. AT&T sees open networks as important because consumers, not regulators, will drive the creation of new phones and functions, de la Vega said.
Even though he said he supports open networks, it was nevertheless good news to him when Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said on Tuesday that he will seek to dismiss a petition for open wireless policies. (Proponents of open-network, or net neutrality, rules said Martin's move would hurt consumers.)
"I think what the chairman has said is that he now realizes that there's a lot of capability for customers to get applications on phones and those applications are making more progress every day, so there is no need to regulate them," de la Vega said.
In a conference call last night, de la Vega said the spectrum AT&T bought at the FCC's recent auction will be used for its next-generation wireless services. That network will be available by 2012, the company said.
The spectrum was attractive, he said, because it does not have the open-access requirements attached to another chunk of spectrum purchased by Verizon Wireless.
-- Cecilia Kang
Washington Post staff writer
Kang reported from the CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas. For more from the Post I.T. blog, visit www.washingtonpost.com/technology.
