AT&T says its wireless network also open to outside devices

Customers of AT&T's mobile-phone service can attach outside devices and
run outside applications, the company said Thursday, following an announcement
last week that Verizon Wireless
would open up its network.

But AT&T's GSM-based (Global System for Mobile Communications) network
has been open to outside devices and applications for years, the company said.
AT&T
will start to publicize that information through salespeople at AT&T stores,
Ralph de la Vega, CEO of the company's wireless business, told
USA Today.

"By its nature, GSM technology is open," said Michael Coe, an AT&T
spokesman. "Customers could always use GSM phones not sold by AT&T
on our network. We can't guarantee the performance of the device, of course."

AT&T's customers can also take their handsets to other mobile service providers
using GSM, with one huge exception: Apple's iPhone. AT&T will not unlock
the iPhone to use on other networks, Coe said.

For other devices, "we will unlock the device when customers fulfill their
contract; we will also unlock the device if the customer pays full price for
the device," he said. "The iPhone, however, is an exception. The iPhone
is exclusive to AT&T in the U.S."

AT&T's publicity on its open-access policies comes after competitor Verizon
Wireless announced Nov. 27 it would open its wireless network to outside devices
and applications by late 2008. Devices will need to be tested by Verizon before
they can be activated, the company said.

The Verizon announcement came after Google launched the Open Handset Alliance,
an open-development platform for mobile phones, earlier in November.

The actions of Google and Verizon didn't prompt any changes at AT&T, Coe
said. "First, we did not make an announcement," he said. "Second,
it's always been this way."

Customers who want to bring a GSM device to the AT&T network can purchase
a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) through the company, Coe said. If the device
operates in U.S. spectrum frequencies, AT&T will activate the device, he
said.

AT&T also allows outside applications on its network, Coe said. "People
have access to a vast array of applications today, some that are provided through
AT&T, others that are not," he said in an e-mail. "We take an
open approach to music, wireless operating systems, e-mail platforms, etc. We
actively encourage developers to create applications and 20,000 have registered
on our developer's site."

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