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Open vs. closed approaches of carriers, BREW vs Java

The distinctions between ‘open’ and ‘closed’ come up quite a bit in the discussion of the future of mobility and wireless providers - because some carriers have controlled both the transmission of data and what you can load on a handset. Developers froth and foam at the walled gardens and the difficulty of getting their applications out of paying customers. Since I’m posting for Japan, it’s probably worthwhile for me to explain the chaotic US carrier market as it related to our heterogenous networks, delivery platforms, and operating systems, so I will give it a shot.

Previously, Verizon was the largest carrier and able to provide subscribers with the security that comes from joining the largest and best supported ‘critical mass’ carrier. Developers were faced with the choice of developing via BREW and going in through the closed Qualcomm-Verizon system branded GetItNow, or going through decentralized channels to develop on Java for handsets using MIDP and Symbian based products (for a good overview of the complex world of Java on handsets - see the slides Bill Day developed for Nokia’s Tech Days last week). Many developers I’ve spoken with have cited Verizon’s 40 million customers as the reason they develop in BREW, despite the transaction costs of working with both Qualcomm and Verizon and the sense that it is a ‘walled garden’ with only limited areas of allowed development. The merger of AT&T Wireless and Cingular has shifted the conversation in a new direction, because now the dominant carrier in the US will be a GSM provider - the applications for which are developed primarily using the Java and Symbian operating systems. The new Cingular’s 50 million customers change the calculations, potentially to favor the more-open Java and Symbian world.

I’m tracking this for its likely impacts on innovation, startup formation and investment patterns. In the closed-system Verizon world, you can only download applications through their GetItNow program, and it is only feasible to go through the entire process of application validation and catalogue engtry for commercial applications. In the Java/Symbian world, applications are designed to be downloaded straight from the provider and publisher, but until the recent announcment of Preminet, there was no integrated application and delivery system available on the Java side. Java has always had the ability to support viral applications with free or shareware type licenses, or applications which are free but exist to drive revenue in other areas (think of a mobile app to enhance functionality for paid services, like Buzznet’s community photo sharing services). Now the Java side is supported by both the infrastructure and the flexibility to accomodate alternative business models.

As we’ve seen countless times, standards faciliate innovation by speeding adoption. Cingular uses the GSM /GPRS format that is in use throughout much of the world.

And Nokia’s Tech Days event is worth a second look - not only did attendees get free training, but they also received copy of Borland’s developer kit (essentially all you need to begin Symbian development). This signals a strong investment by Nokia in nuturing and growing its developer community.