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I'm guessing AT&T's loss would be in allowing a toehold on number portability. Your current choice is: work hard to get sucky_cell_provider_X move your number
by jhancock 17y ago
I'm guessing AT&T's loss would be in allowing a toehold on number portability. Your current choice is: work hard to get sucky_cell_provider_X move your number to sucky_cell_provider_Y. The process isn't transparent to most consumers. Google comes in as proving a free value add service that also aids the process of number portability. Once this happens to a large enough user base, there should be losses and price pressure to the provider as there becomes more options for the consumer. This route is not what AT&T or any provider wants.
- pyre 17y agoThis is what any industry doesn't want. With Google providing a 'front-end' to your telephone service the actual providers like AT&T become a commodity. No industry wants their product to become a commodity.
- jhancock 17y agoexactly. Commoditization happens and we should remove some barriers that keep it from happening. I beleive that things becoming commodity and becoming subsumed into our social/economic fabric are critical to evolution.
- AlisdairO 17y agoIs there no number portability in the US?
- jhancock 17y agoThere is now, but barely. The vast majority of cell users don't know about it and most people I have talked to that moved their number said it wasn't that easy. Google may both make it easier and certainly raise awareness.