Carriers are the biggest threat to innovation

[skynet]

How can anyone be surprised? Why can't these huge profitable corporations (and governments) get their heads out of their asses? Is this on purpose or are they just stupid? Is it only for the money? Greed? Why are they dooming technology and us to limbo? This is not just happening in one area. It seems almost every field of technology and life is being affected by something like this and it's so ridiculous.

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....And indeed, things are different — they've gotten dramatically worse. Instead of seeing the benefits of free competition at the consumer level, the carriers are now exerting more control than ever before as demand for mobile devices skyrockets. Getting a device on a major carrier can take up to 15 months and cost millions of dollars; carriers are notorious for demanding custom devices in order to create customer lock-in. "Exclusivity is the bane of my existence," says one source at a major phone manufacturer. "But it's the only way business gets done."

It's even bad for Apple: one source close to the iPhone calls the carrier process "incredibly backward." But it's not just about frustrated manufacturers. Increased carrier control over customers and devices has stunted competition and stalled innovation — sometimes fatally so.

Full Story: Five years after the iPhone, carriers are the biggest threat to innovation