According to an interview with the head of AT&T's wireless business, AT&T's network is already open, allowing users to use any device and any software application. Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T's wireless business, told USA Today that users "can use any handset on our network."
Of course, this isn't really news – this is technically true with GSM devices. With a GSM network, users can take their SIM card out of their AT&T phone and slip it into any network-compatible device and they should be off and running. The difference, according to de la Vega, is that now AT&T salespeople have been instructed to let customers know all of "their options."
And there are still locked down portions for the "most open wireless company in the industry." For one, the iPhone. Sold only through AT&T, the most talked about handset is not available unlocked in the United States and it doesn't sound like AT&T is planning to unlock it, or many of the devices it sells. Also customers buying phones through the carrier will still need to sign service contracts, with penalties for early termination. However, AT&T and other carriers have eased up on termination fees in recent months.
The push to promote openness comes as Google has been making considerable noise around the wireless's industry's practices of binding contracts and locked devices. The Internet search giant has even recently announced its intention to enter the mobile marketplace more directly with its open platform for mobile phones called Android, and the company's intention to bid in the FCC's upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction. Verizon Wireless also recently announced intentions to open its network sometime next year. For Verizon, a CDMA carrier, this is bigger news; CDMA does not use SIM cards in the same way, and so users need a carrier to switch service from one device to the next.
With all the fuss being made around open networks, it makes some sense that AT&T would want to remind wireless customers that it has always embraced certain standards of openness.