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If Compuserve and AOL had a veto over what browsers people could use, yes, that would be a decent analogue. It's not that Microsoft needs carrier approval in a
by roc 14y ago
If Compuserve and AOL had a veto over what browsers people could use, yes, that would be a decent analogue.
It's not that Microsoft needs carrier approval in a technical way. But they absolutely need to be on the carriers' good side in a business sense. If Microsoft is pushing products that will erode carrier profit margin, the carrier stores are not going to push Microsoft's phones.
And Microsoft has had little luck to date selling phones without their help.
- brudgers 14y agoCarriers don't have veto power over Skype. If they did, nobody would be using it. Instead it is a worldwide success. The US model of carrier subsidies for mobile phones is not only limited in its geographic scope, it is exceedingly vulnerable to disruption for the same reasons that cable and traditional phone companies carry internet traffic for a flat fee.