From the LEX Column of the Financial Times: “[I]t is increasing hard to see a future for the mobile phone operators as anything other than low-margin suppliers of dumb piping . . . the industry is heading towards a role similar to that of a regulated utility.” (Read the rest of the column on US mobile telecoms (subscription required))
The article discusses the FCC’s investigation of Apple’s decision to ban Google Voice from the app store, as well as the inquiry into handset exclusivity deals. As regulators clamp down on the efforts of cellular operators to “get in the middle” (between the end user and the applications) in a desperate effort to remain relevant, as they investigate the high prices charged by the operators for text messages, FT wonders what else is left for this industry.
What do you think?
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