For those of you who think Apple’s iPhone deal with AT&T looked an awful lot like an MVNO relationship, there’s a reason. Several blogs (MacNN and AppleInsider, to name two) dug through a recently published patent application Apple filed in 2006 and discovered that Apple was considering some kind of hyper-virtual operator business model, in which it would connect to any of multiple different operators on the fly, depending on who could offer the best rates at any given moment.

On one end would be an Apple server that tracked each iPhone user’s location in real time. On the other end would be a gaggle of network operators Apple had resale agreements with. Each would set determined rates for specific regions and for specific times, and the Apple server would sort through that data selecting the cheapest rate at the time for the customers. Apple also made provisions for customers selecting their own operator and accompanying rate plan based on the same data, allowing them to change operators depending on the time of day or region.

That’s all fairly complicated since the typical MVNO signs a network deal with one operator and sticks to it. There is precedence among the large resellers like Tracfone, which sign multiple operator agreements, but I doubt they have the capability to switch between operators on the fly based on real-time pricing info. While those capabilities may be in Apple’s hands right now, the carriers probably aren’t equipped just yet, said Alex Besen, who heads the Washington mobile data consultancy The Besen Group. “Not yet,” Besen said. “As they move toward next-generation networks, they will.”

So will this MVNO model ever appear? It’s doubtful. Apple seems to be doing pretty well with its partnership deals at the moment. And if open access really takes off in the next few years, there may not even be reason to consider it.

Remember when convergence was all the rage? Wireless, wireline — everything was going to blend together like a giant fruit smoothie. Your mobile phone was going to be your remote control; your cousin was going to be your spouse. Convergence was the ultimate industry metabuzzword. Well-respected industry trade publications even used it in their tag lines.

So why isn’t financial reality catching up with our fanciful dreams and marketing presentations? more…

The former CEO of a struggling operator is now taking over the board of a struggling vendor. It’s probably crossed more than a few of your minds that Dave Dorman played none too small a role in SBC’s acquisition of AT&T, which eventually took his former company’s venerable moniker before he retired. Now as chairman of Motorola, he’ll oversee Moto’s split into two entities: one focused solely on handsets and the other on a diverse array of carrier, enterprise, government and consumer equipment. more…

The industry has claimed another two MVNO casualties. Micro-MVNO-enabler Sonopia has let go of all of its U.S. staff, according to MEOW! Blog, and last week Movida, an IDT-backed Cisneros Group-backed MVNO targeted at Spanish speakers, went bankrupt.

Let’s face it the MVNO market looks pathetic. more…

How ironic. The news of greatest import to come out of CTIA Wireless had absolutely nothing to do with wireless. After his keynote speech with fellow former presidential candidate Fred Thompson, John Edwards told reporters that he would not accept the vice presidential nomination if offered by Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.

LAS VEGAS–Qualcomm isn’t just about phones anymore. It’s also powering the radio connections of future laptops. According to the chipset maker, “several” laptop makers, including Dell, are incorporating Qualcomm’s data device UMTS and EV-DO radio chips into their PCs and plan to ship them in 2008. What’s more T-Mobile International, Verizon Wireless , Vodafone and Telefonica have either certified said laptops or will complete certification this month.  more…

AT&T today announced it would be the first commercial customer using Microsoft’s ‘Surface’ technology, which lets users touch, grab and manipulate data on screens. The technology isn’t used in AT&T mobile phones, but in a new table-top kiosk to be deployed in AT&T retail stores.

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There was a new face in the smartphone manufacturer crowd at CTIA this year. Called Velocity Mobile, the company launched this week, along with two new smartphones designed to enhance the Windows Mobile experience. The company is designing and selling its own devices, manufactured by Taiwan-based ODM Inventec Corp, the world’s third-largest notebook manufacturer. more…

Can you remember the last time an equipment vendor won a highly competitive contract with a megacarrier and then turned it down?

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NBC Universal today announced plans to build its mobile presence through partnerships with Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Research In Motion to carry NBCU’s ad-supported mobile web sites. With brands like NBC, Universal Pictures, USA Networks, Bravo and others, consumers will get direct access to more than 60 WAP sites on their handsets. These partnerships announced today at Mobile Entertainment Live in Las Vegas, expand upon its existing relationship with Alltel Wireless, announced in July of last year. more…