Carriers Versus Handset Makers

I believe that most people think that their cell phone carriers and manufacturers have a pretty decent working relationship. Well, you have to wonder what is going to end up happening as they begin to set different goals from one another. Could there be some drifting to take place?

Slowly and surely, we are beginning to see a line in the sand been drawn between the carriers and the handset makers. A little ago I was chatting with AT&T Wireless chief technology officer Rod Nelson. Our conversation was about commoditization of the cell phone business. With six radio chipset makers, four operating systems companies, and half a dozen middle ware and processor makers, the barriers to entry in the wireless handset business have been lowered to such a level where anyone can get into the business. For carriers, this is good news. “Small companies will do whatever we want them to do,” says Nelson said. What was unsaid was that they were using this muscle to squeeze the big players like Nokia and Sony Ericsson.