[kwlug-disc] Android data backups

Khalid Baheyeldin kb at 2bits.com
Wed Jul 25 23:57:26 EDT 2012


On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 6:17 PM, Bob Jonkman <bjonkman at sobac.com> wrote:

> To be fair, when the three major players entered the market there was
> only CDMA and GSM, and then the "2G" higher frequencies.  The new
> frequencies for UTMS/HSPA were only auctioned to the new providers,
> who are the only ones to need the multi-frequency handsets.
>

Well, fragmentation was there even with initial GSM deployment. For
example, the two frequencies used around the world were not the same ones
that we had in North America. They were off by just a little.

Only after we got Quad band handsets would a phone I use here still work in
Europe and Africa, ...etc.

Some frequencies are just in North America: e.g. the one used by WIND,
which is the same as T-Mobile.

The three major players aren't likely to acquire multi-frequency
> handsets.  They'll claim it's to keep handset costs lower, but I think
> it's to prevent their handsets from being unlocked and used on the new
> carriers' networks.
>

That is true.

But there is another barrier: the contract. Why is that not enough? You
don't
want a contract Mr Customer? Pay the full price of the handset, or buy your
own off Kijiji. Done!


> All in all, I'd rather see the new frequencies assigned to new
> carriers (and so, handset incompatibility) rather than the major
> players monopolizing the new spectrum and stifling competition.
>

It is bad either way. Standards are there for a reason. To justify thwarting
standards under any excuse allows them to continue doing it.

-- 
Khalid M. Baheyeldin
2bits.com, Inc.
http://2bits.com
Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. --  Edsger W.Dijkstra
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. --   Leonardo da Vinci
For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple, and
wrong." -- H.L. Mencken
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