I just got an email today, and it irks me to no end. It’s a case of supporting the cause, but completely disagreeing with the method of implementation.
The email was from FreePress.net, and it was announcing a new site “Free the iPhone” at freetheiphone.org. Their whole premise, is this:
The big mobile phone companies lock their devices so they won’t work on other networks, cripple innovative applications, stifle competition in markets and restrict access to their “preferred” content.
Now I fully agree with this, and I think that this should change. But they go on to say:
Politicians in Washington have the power to grant this freedom, but they must hear from us first.
This is where I stopped reading, and this is where I don’t fully agree. It sounds good, but what it’s really asking for is more government rules and regulations to “govern” the mobile phone market.
I am against this for several reasons. The first is that I don’t think this is a wise use of our government’s time and resources. Consumers have the power to control what they buy, The consumer controls the free market. This is the perfect opportunity for a few entrepreneurs to take the world by storm, offering a service that people want. If I had a few more resources at my disposal, I might even consider doing it.
The second reason I’m against this thinking, is that our government is very slow to move to anything. First, it would take them forever to get any legislation passed, and when they did, it wouldn’t do half of what you wanted the bill to do in the first place. It would be drafted and put in place by people who don’t understand the technology and are so short sighted, that the bill would be more of a hinderance to future growth then not having a bill at all.
The law would then stand around idly for years while no one payed any attention to it, until the same people who petitioned for it, then petitioned to either have it revoked, or improved, wherein the process then repeats itself.
The best way to change things in our current situation is to NOT pass legislation.
A second and less relevant thought on the article, is how it focuses on the iPhone. According to rumors I’ve heard, Apple locked into a 5 year exclusive contract with AT&T. So if any legislation would be passed, it would go against a already legal contract between two companies, and AT&T would not let that go without a fight. My prediction is that the iPhone will come to other cell phone companies, and possibly in less then 5 years.
The power is in the hands of the consumer. If the consumers really don’t like being locked into one company, let’s start a few companies that don’t lock in their customers. If that’s really what the consumer wants, they’ll be happy to join in. I don’t see why we need to bother our government with more technology they don’t understand.
