'Trust but verify' open mobile network pledges

'TRUST BUT VERIFY' OPEN MOBILE NETWORK PLEDGES
[SOURCE: InfoWorld, AUTHOR: Grant Gross]
Major mobile voice and data carriers in the United States have pledged to open their networks to outside handsets and applications, but regulators and customers need to be vigilant to make sure those promises are fulfilled, Federal Communications Commission member Michael Copps said Tuesday at a New America Foundation forum. Mobile carriers still dictate what features can be used on most phones, with Wi-Fi features unavailable on most U.S. mobile phones because of carrier opposition, Commissioner Copps said. The FCC needs "trust but verify" the open network promises from the carriers, he said. Carriers have in recent months taken steps to block text messages and some types of applications, Commissioner Copps added. They need to pledge to "no blocking, no locking, and no discriminatory degradation of service," he said.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/01/22/FCC-Copps-open-mobile-network-...

* Copps: No need to mandate 'open' mobile networks...yet
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9855235-7.html?tag=nefd.top

* Text of Commissioner Copps' remarks
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-279631A1.doc