Japan gets unlocked phones and 42Mbps HSPA NTT DoCoMo of Japan, renowned for its tight control of its handset experience, is taking a major step towards open access, and promises to offer all its phones unlocked. From next April, the operator will allow customers to switch handsets and take their devices to other carriers, by inserting a new SIM card, and will include …
You should thank Ofcom for that one. It has made a long list of "interesting" decisions which ensure the following:
1. There is little or no competition on technology (that is exactly what eMobile is doing in Japan and that is why it is growing). UK has none of that.
2. There is no way to be disruptive because even the network topology is prescribed. So even if an operator can come up with a network design which will reduce costs and allow it to be more competitive this is not allowed for the operator or for whoever sells the backhaul capacity to the operator.
3. Prices are deflated to a point where the profits are insufficient for long term network investment and everyone fights on "same grounds" in a race for the bottom. That is the fundamental reason why UK carriers are going backwards. They have no choice. There is totally bugger all they can do to improve their service financials at the fundamental level through design, technology and innovation so they are forced to compete on price only. As a side effect this kills high tech (and low tech for that matter) jobs in the UK by a death of a thousand cuts and replaces them with shop assistants and marketing.
That is also the case for other industries. The regulators in the UK continuously proclaim their wonderful achievements while killing the long term perspectives of their industries. As a result only foreign companies who have core markets outside the UK have the money to invest into the UK utilties - EDF, Telefonica, etc. There is simply no way to generate this money locally - there is no margin for it any more.
It is a pity the labcons (conlabs or whatever they are) have not chopped the Of*** heads yet. If they do and some of the most idiotic restrictions on network and services are removed you will see the unlimited plans and unlocked kit coming back sooner or later as they are the necessary tools to disrupt the market.
I hardly think that Ofcom are to blame for the imposition of data caps. Our mobile operators make enough money to have invested in proper supporting infrastructure 3 times over. If they were really concerned about the best possible mobile service then they would cap the number of handsets that they sell rather than offering them out like a candy in a thrift store.
But alas they are not. All of the money instead gets spunked on sponsoring racing cars and flimsy but costly self promotion rather than where it is really needed which is a decent network, an integrated joined up internal IT system, and quality customer services personnel.
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