But spurred by growing demand and a federal airwaves auction that closed last week, the major wireless carriers are stepping away from a model in which each cellphone is controlled by a single company that sells customers a device locked to their network, demands a lengthy contract, and limits the phone's features.
"We call it a 180-degree about-face to open access, and it really is a fundamental shift in business models - if we can get there," said Linda Barrabee, senior analyst at Yankee Group, a technol ogy research firm, and author of a recent report, "Open Access is the New Black."
By Carolyn Y. Johnson