Hey Joe,

I couldn't agree with you more. But I don't think we'll be seeing a device like the one you describe that will work on any wireless network in the near future. Not when companies like AT&T are willing to pay exorbitant fees for exclusive distribution rights and customers are willing to pay them big bucks to get their hands on devices like the iPhone.

AS

Although legally it may not be the case... it does have some of the characteristics of Monopolly.

To me - personally - if it isn't on Verizon Wireless, it's not worth my time. I chose a cell phone service provider based on the quality of their service and lines... not the gadgets they offer. At the end of the day, I want a clear reliable service - not a few more bttons to play while I'm off the phone.
for this I will get something that is far more advanced than a cell phone that can play a few mp3's and video files.

If AT&T was so confident in their service they probably wouldn't have to pay so much for companies like Apple and Garmin for exclusiveness because customers would switch over anyway.

The 700MHz spectrum, which has been used to provide analog TV service, is considered the last piece of prime real estate left among wireless airwaves because it's able to travel long distances and penetrate walls. Everyone from mobile operators to public-safety companies to Google sees the spectrum as a perfect opportunity to extend mobile broadband services.

It would be very interesting how the market evolves once this spectrum is awarded to the bidding winner. An I hope it is google.

I agree totally that the primary consideration should be the quality of the wireless service: the problem arises for those who travel extensively.

I live just north of Dallas, TX, being relocated by my company from NJ. In New Jersey, Verizon and T-Mobile rule. I came here with a Verizon phone: the reception was good but in my area, ATT is the one who actually has the best service. At the time, their rate plans were also the best: much better than Verizons. I switched and am still with ATT.

Friends visiting from up north who were on T-Mobile found they could barely get a signal half the time and were always dropping calls.

So in evaluating service, especially if you travel a lot, can be frustrating experimentation. And since Verizon uses the CDMA protocol, if you travel internationally, your phone just won't work at all. ATT and T-Mobile use GSM, the world standard. A quad band GSM phone will work anywhere in the world there is cellular service.

As to the iPhone and Garmin, marketing in the wireless phone business has changed considerably. The "churn" level...people switching carriers, is the biggest problem the wireless carriers face. If you changed carriers in the past, that meant changing your phone # and a lot of people didn't want/couldn't for business reasons change their wireless #. But since the law was changed allowing phone number portability, The churn rate spiked because you didn't have to get a new wireless # anymore when you switched carriers.

While you're right that service is the most important thing, especially the younger demographic will switch phone companies in a heartbeat to get that "new, must have phone". People are also shopping rate plans more and will switch to save $10 a month or get more roll-over minutes, or more text messaging.....you get the point. No more loyalty to the carrier. If you combine that with poor national service, you get Sprint/Nextel, which is losing customers like flies every day. And with them, revenue.

On the hardware level, you also get more flexibility and choice with GSM phones, but at a price. Asia and Europe makes the most advanced wireless phones on the planet. The ATT Tilt, for example is made by HTC. An almost identical version of the ATT Tilt, the HTC Kaiser was available 10 months before the Tilt showed up here.

There are websites, or check eBay to see a sample of what's out there. You where you can buy "unlocked" versions of these phones, which are 6 months to a year ahead of their US release (assuming a carrier picks one up) There are a large number of manufacturers who make hundreds of phones with outstanding features that never make it into the US...because the FCC has to certify every phone a US carrier markets...and it's a long expensive process.

"Unlocked" means, since they're GSM phones, it will work on either ATT or T-Mobile (and a couple of other small wireless carriers). Phones you buy from ATT, most infamously the iPhone are "locked" onto ATT. The same goes for the T-Mobile Wing...it won't work on ATT.

So you can buy next year's phone and pick/change between at least two carriers in the US. iPhones are also available unlocked, but usually through software hacks that may disable other features. Be careful buying an unlocked iPhone. But now that Apple is marketing iPhones overseas, it's possible that true unlocked versions would be available you could use on T-Mobile. I don't trust Apple, though. If you wanted one (which I don't), getting a legit model on ATT is the safest way to go.

Google the phone "HTC Touch Cruise" (not just HTC Touch...2 different phones) It has practically every feature immaginable, looks great, is small with a big touch screen...and their touchscreen has a cube on the display. Depending which way you "turn" the cube by swiping your finger across the screen, different feature sets come up. It's great!

The disadvantage to an unlocked phone is that you're going to pay more since it doesn't have an "activation discount" like most US Carriers offer. But on the other hand, neither does an ATT iPhone: you pay full price, so if that pricerange doesn't scare you, neither should an unlocked phone.

The 770MHz spectrum has the advantages you state, but even with it's longer range, it still boils down to how many towers you can get up, how you overlap your coverage and how much coverage you offer...to your original point: the quality of the service is the most important. Zoning laws are a bitch. It takes a long time to get new towers approved and every state, city and town in the country have different rules.

For Google to start from scratch would be a real challenge. They could jumpstart by purchasing Sprint/Nextel and getting all there towers to start with. With the additional range of 700MHz, the coverage would improve significantly. It does introduce a new frequency that won't work overseas, but for domestic and especially broadband, it could be a big win for them.

We'll just have to wait and see but do go to eBay's wireless phone section and do a search on "unlocked". You'll be amazed at what's out there you never knew existed. There's also some good posts at http://theunloadingzone.blogspot.com