AT&T Wireless CEO Hints at ‘Managing’ iPhone Data Usage [PC World]
At the CTIA conference last week, the annual gathering for the wireless phone industry, the head of AT&T's wireless division floated plans for Ma Bell to begin managing data on its wireless network. Interestingly, this trial balloon came right in the middle of FCC chairman Julius Genachowski's network neutrality initiative. Genachowski's proposed network non-discrimination rules would apply to both wired and wireless networks.
Ralph de la Vega is CEO of AT&T Wireless, and he told CTIA attendees that the growth of wireless data usage has expanded 5,000 times in the past three years, but it's not been uniform across all of AT&T's mobile customers. According to de la Vega, three percent of customers account for forty percent of wireless data usage. That's not dissimilar to the disproportionate data usage patterns observed on wired broadband networks, necessitating reasonable network management to keep the broadband experience enjoyable for all users. De la Vega told the conference attendees that AT&T would, "manage the network to make sure that the few cannot crowd out the many.”
It's no surprise that AT&T says it is planning to manage their wireless data network. After all, the company already has management practices in place that restrict the types of wireless applications AT&T subscribers can use on their phones - applications like Slingplayer, which allows users to stream their cable television. But, it remains to be seen how the FCC's rule making process may impact AT&T, and other mobile providers, ability to manage their networks.
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