*Apple sets mode: -v Google

Lots of talk about the FCC reaction to Apple kicking Google voice off the iPhone. I am hearing that this is the beginning of the end for iPhone exclusivity. Is being locked into verizon is any better?

Kent Newsome says that this is a crossroads for apple, and that they will have to rethink what their customers want from them. I agree but I I also think AT&T is going to have to meet at the crossroads with us so we can hash this out. And that there is more to this paradigm shift for AT&T than there is for apple.

Rate structures from mobile operators are all about the voice minutes, but power users (especially teens) use them less and less these days. They have to buy 400 minute plan at minimum just to get the opportunity to pay extra for data and text. It makes it seem like they are paying more for the voice service they rarely use than the add-ons they do. Add to this landscape the internet SMS and VOIP services, and the only service really needed from the mobile operators is the data plan. So we don't really need a cell phone service provider, we need a mobile ISP. The sooner the big mobile operators realize this, the better the mobile landscape will be. They can build rate structures based on data usage, not on minutes and add-on services. They can stop overprotecting the iPhone app store and rejecting useful apps. And they can start bulking up the data infrastructure for better bandwidth and uptime.

There are a couple of small MVNOs starting up that provide unlimited everything for a flat rate. They can do this because the voice and text services they provide are internet-based so they are essentially an ISP. It seems to me like this will be the natural progression. First people started replacing their landlines with cellphones, the next step is to replace their home isp with a mobile isp. Where do i sign up?