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Secondly, there's the issue of activation. Originally, of course, Apple and AT&T were on the cutting edge by completely shifting the paradigm of mobile handset activation by having users take their handsets home, hook them up to their home computers, and activate the phone through iTunes. However, there was the issue of "jail-breaks." Synchronoss, the company famously awarded with the service activation platform for the iPhone, got burned by the number of users purchasing the iPhone from Apple Stores, and took them away to parts unknown, never activating them via Synchronoss's platform.
And then, once again, the 3G iPhone is unveiled. The faster, cheaper version came with a caveat: They had to be activated in-store. Where did that leave Synchronoss and their in-home activation? Out in the cold. It isn't a part of the in-store 3G iPhone activations, but claims that it is maintaining some of its activation business with AT&T.
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OSS/BSS professionals are aware that they are bound to be one of the more silent and unappreciated corners of the telecommunications world, generally garnering attention only when they fail to perform their expected duties. |
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What's the Damage?
These were two potentially serious missteps: A device unleashed without the network to back it up, and an activation plan that causes boatloads of problems for users and, ultimately, the OSS company behind it. Now, fortunately for Apple, hardcore Mac users display a sense of loyalty that is rarely spotted outside of Radiohead fans and core Barack Obama supporters (in fact, I suspect that a Venn diagram of the three groups might turn
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Where does this mean for other OSS companies? OSS/BSS professionals are aware that they are bound to be one of the more silent and unappreciated corners of the telecommunications world, generally garnering attention only when they fail to perform their expected duties. With the face of telecom constantly shifting, will it be the OSS pros who are left holding the bag? It's a strong possibility. The wireless landscape is far less-well mapped than the traditional telecommunications environment. This may mean rocky times for some OSS/BSS companies. Synchronoss rode the next-gen wireless wave through all of its crests and troughs, and ended up taking a tumble.
Then again, activation isn't nearly so big an issue for providers around the globe. For many providers and many users, SIM cards are far more important than handsets, and the activation process has become super easy. However, for high-end smartphones that companies are trying very hard to keep in-house, considerations must be made.
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up a great deal of overlap... but I digress). Therefore, Apple can weather many of the storms such a slick device could cause.
Google has some of that same cachet. So how will its Android play when T-Mobile releases the first handsets running the OS as early as October? Will it reap the same rewards from its permanent beta culture? The HTC-manufactured handset is said to promise a touch screen and a slide-out keyboard. Sprint is also said to be working on a phone featuring Android. This represents yet another departure from the traditional telecom world undertaken in an attempt to lure the high-ARPU mobile user.
These users have some pretty intense expectations, though. They want rock-solid QoS. It's no secret that millions of users, particularly the under-30 set, forgo landlines altogether. (In fact, for those not paying attention, this has been cited as a factor
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