Examples
One widely regarded example of the operator “dumb pipe” scenario is Apple’s iPhone. The iPhone enables its users to directly surf the Internet with its mobile Safari browser and connects to Apple’s iTunes Store for purchasing ringtones and music instead of the operator’s own portal. Operators such as AT&T Mobility cannot offer their traditional services (such as downloads of wallpapers, ringtones, games, applications, etc.) as Apple controls the total iPhone user experience. Operators must be content to provide only the network connectivity and bandwidth which the iPhone has tripled in some cities. In addition to losing valuable revenue opportunities with the customer, operators are rumored to pay Apple a percentage of the customer’s monthly bill as well. While the iPhone is a good example of the dumb pipe, not everyone believes it will ultimately be bad for operators.
Another example of the operator dumb pipe / smart pipe dilemma is the upcoming deployment of WiMAX technology. Companies such as Sprint Nextel and Clearwire are looking into ways to deploy WiMAX with additional services to keep them from becoming dumb pipes.
Read more about this topic: Dumb Pipe
Famous quotes containing the word examples:
“Histories are more full of examples of the fidelity of dogs than of friends.”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
“In the examples that I here bring in of what I have [read], heard, done or said, I have refrained from daring to alter even the smallest and most indifferent circumstances. My conscience falsifies not an iota; for my knowledge I cannot answer.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)
“No rules exist, and examples are simply life-savers answering the appeals of rules making vain attempts to exist.”
—André Breton (1896–1966)