For better or worse. In no particular order.
- Affordable unlimited data plans
- Google getting into the operator business
- Yahoo! getting into the operator business
- Affordable phones not tied to carriers
- The iPod phone
- Development of strong AI (yes I say this about everything)
- Development of decent agent software
- Affordable unlimited voice plans
- Collapse of network neutrality
- An active mobile WebStandards task force (ok, not overnight, but still important)
-m
> Collapse of network neutrality
I’m confused by what you mean? Can you extend this a bit more?
What “network neutrality” means? Or what a collapse means?
This deserves a separate post, though I ususally avoid posting about things that 50,000 other bloggers are writing about.
If phone companies thought they could get away with it, you’d have this: “I’m sorry, all circuits to Domino’s Pizza are currently busy. Would you like to be connected to our preferred pizza provider instead?”
If that happens, lots of things change overnight. -m
No, I’m quite familiar with Network Neutrality > http://www.oreillynet.com/xml/blog/2006/05/maintaining_netneutrality_by_d_1.html http://www.oreillynet.com/xml/blog/2006/05/net_neutrality_1_att_10_for_ba.html
Anyway, what it said was I agree but I like your explanation TONS better. I am going to make a post to ny XML.com blog now… if you have trackbacks turned off I will updated you here in a sec with the URI.Thanks!
http://www.oreillynet.com/xml/blog/2006/06/mdubinkoblog_more_on_network_n.html
> all circuits to Domino’s Pizza are currently busy.
> Would you like to be connected to our preferred pizza provider instead?
It already happens. You open a phone book to find a pizza store near you and see the preferred pizza provider in a 12 pt bold font, while all others are in a 4 pt font.
With net neutrality gone, you’ll pay less for your connection, but more for your content. It’s more fair this way.
“It already happens. You open a phone book to find a pizza store near you and see the preferred pizza provider in a 12 pt bold font, while all others are in a 4 pt font.”
You’re suggesting advertising is the same thing as closed-door deals in which someone purchases the right to be your exclusive provider of “choice.”
The ability to advertise ones products is obviously an important part of culture. But just because Joe’s Pizza purchases a larger size/print ad in the local phone book doesn’t mean Sam’s Pizza can no longer gain access to the same customer base. They may need to invest more into advertising, or more into their product to let word of mouth become their form of advertising, or whatever else.
But Sam still has the same access to the same base of customers, and the same base of customers still have access to Sam.
Advertising doesn’t take away user choice. It might encourage user choice, but it doesn’t take that choice away.
Howerver, when someone purchases the exclusive rights for access to a particular base of consumer, the competition is now blocked so they can no longer gain access to this same customer base.
Maybe it doesn’t seem as big of a deal now as there are other ways in our culture for customers to gain access to our services, but as we push further into a world where are services are “served up” by our “service provider”, and this provider has the ability to pick and choose who they will allow access to us and who they will not…
Then we’re screwed.