AT&T claims completely open network, too -- "the most open," even!
By Ryan Block 
posted December 6th 2007 2:31AM
posted December 6th 2007 2:31AM
Who'd have thought the end of 2007 would see US cellphone carrier heavyweights duking it out with PR one-upsmanship to be... open? Seriously, someone pinch us, it's as amazing as it is farcical. So the latest development in big network "openness" has USA Today running off in the opposite direction with AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega's comments that "You can use any handset on our network you want... We don't prohibit it, or even police it. ... We are the most open wireless company in the industry." We think the headline "AT&T flings cellphone network wide open" kind of says it all.The reality of the situation? Nothing has changed between yesterday and today, and, as de la Vega told us a couple of weeks ago, AT&T customers can continue expect the status quo from the nation's largest carrier in terms of their level of openness and flexibility. Granted, it's one thing for Verizon to say they're going wide open (especially being ridiculously closed CDMA carrier they are), but it's quite another for AT&T to lay claims as though it's somehow more open than any other carrier in the world when that argument comes as an extension of its core network technology. Yes, you can take your AT&T SIM, put it in an unlocked device, and run it on their network without much hassle -- but that doesn't make AT&T any more "open" than the final-say testing facility Verizon intends to use in "openly" making approvals (and disapprovals) of devices and software.
[Thanks, epi117]
I agree with the statement that AT&T is the "most open" although I admit TMobile could be, I don't have enough experience with them. I've had VeriZon, Sprint and Cingular/ATT. Oh, and my definition of "open"? The carrier that most allows you to modify and use your phone in any fashion you want.
Sprint? Not open, you have to use their phones. Ability to add software is limited. Coverage is pretty sad, at least in the Northeast US.
Verizon? Pure evil. Disabling bluetooth and USB file transfer to force people to incur data charges whenever they move data on and off their phones is nauseating. That sounds like the exact opposite of "open" to me.
AT&T? Here's my experience. I have an HTC P3600, similar to but not the same as the Cingular 8525 (no thumboard, has GPS). Bought it myself. I have loaded updated basic ROM software, updated the radio software, added all sorts of WM6 software like video players, etc., basically done whatever I wanted with the phone. When I have had problems with the phone (such as setting up email, and once problems getting text messages), I called up regular support and they helped me the same way they would any other customer - having a non-Cigular phone didn't faze them one bit. They walked me through checking the ISP, etc.
The one "restriction" I've seen is internet access is really flaky unless you use their "MediaNet" proxy server, which I hear might block streaming TV and video (which place a high demand on bandwidth).
They even have a somewhat decent webgroup where people share ideas about customizing and otherwise "hacking" their phones. They have banned discussions about how to replace ROMs, but I'llbet that's more to keep people from calling customer service after they brick their phones.
Does that sound like the epxerience you'd get with Verizon or Sprint? Nope - locked down. TMobile, I don't know.
Before I had my iPhone (sorry I had to throw that in there), I had a Cingy 8525 and used the wap settings all the time cause I'm cheating and use the Media Max 20 bucks/month package. I used it to stream Orb ALL THE TIME. As a matter of fact, there were times I had over a GIG of data usage in a month using just the 20 bucks/month and the WAP access point settings...Just FYI
I think networks will be more open when they stop locking all the phones they sell with contract...