eTel: The open source phone crowd talks to itself
An example: An otherwise excellent speaker on identity, Kaliya Hamlin, tried to suggest some potential win-win strategies in identity management that would help users while still enabling the operators to make money. She suggested that the operators offer identity services and tie them to a commerce engine, so users could buy things and charge them through their wireless bills. It’s a great idea, and the Japanese operators are already doing it. But I know from personal experience that as soon as you mention ‘billing’ to most of the US and European operators they run screaming from the room. Their billing systems are already too complex, held together by chewing gum and spiderwebs, and the thought of making a big change to them is terrifying. Kaiya gets an A for effort, but in a forum that had a balanced representation her idea would have been discussed and debated rather than just tossed out there.”
I wonder if there’s enough of a market in pushing cell phones as a credit card replacement to justify starting up a new cell company or MVNO…