Jasper Wireless and operator AT&T have announced the commercial launch of a platform to connect a wide range of wireless devices over the AT&T network. The idea behind AT&T Control Centre is to allow pretty much any existing wireless device to communicate certain information with other devices. And while consumers will see some benefits from this, it looks like it has been designed mostly to attract “emerging devices“.
The platform is as much for enterprises and device management as it is for consumers. Now, it will offer a lot of cool stuff to consumers. The Control Centre should allow your smartphone or MID to communicate with your cars GPS system, or your e-readers, handheld games console, tracking device… ideally, any wireless device.
But a huge amount of this launch is aimed straight at device manufacturers and businesses. This service really is being directed towards getting future devices onto AT&T instead of it’s competitor networks. The partnership with Jasper is even being handled by a branch of AT&T called the “Emerging Devices Organization”. AT&T wants to make testing and launching new devices with it as appealing as possible. There are device testing and management aspects to the platform. Manufacturers will be able to test devices for interoperability before launch. Devices will be able to automatically connect to wireless services as soon as they’re unwrapped and turned on, with no configuration required for the user. Analytics and reports will provided on device usage on the AT&T network. It will even handle billing and customer support. Although I would have thought AT&T would be handling billing for devices operating on its network already anyway.
From the release:
“With the AT&T Control Center platform, we can offer consumer electronics and M2M device manufacturers and enterprise solution providers an experience they simply cannot receive from another provider,” said Glenn Lurie, president, Emerging Device and Resale, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “We’re streamlining the process by offering a one-stop solution for network provisioning, device activation, customer support, billing options, performance audits and much more. Consumers and businesses will benefit from an unprecedented end-user experience – instant activation, flexible pricing options, and customized support.”
“The Control Center provides a single platform that allows manufacturers to quickly build their connected device businesses and then move seamlessly into new markets with localized service and billing options,” said Jahangir Mohammed, CEO, Jasper Wireless. “By combining the Jasper Wireless global service platform with AT&T’s industry-leading wireless network, we have created a complete connectivity solution that simplifies deployment and operations for manufacturers, while instantly delivering value-added features right to consumers’ devices.”
What we think?
Getting the hottest smartphone (ie, the iPhone) on to your network is basically money in the bank. It’s not the alpha and the omega, but it certainly helps. As LG proved yesterday, you don’t need an Apple product to see good sales. You do need hot devices though. And that’s what AT&T Control Centre is all about. Attracting the hottest new devices to the AT&T network.
