Cingular Wireless and Verizon Wireless Agree to Share

"Cingular Wireless and Verizon Wireless agreed to allow their wireless subscribers to swap photo mails and other mixed-media messages with each other. The two carriers reportedly account for 93 million of the 180 million wireless subscribers. (Source: CNet News)"

In a brilliant move of foresight, the two wireless provider giants have finally decided to allow their customers exchange media messages. This follows the innovation of a several years ago, when the companies reached agreement to allow their customers exchange text messages. Recent reports on Verizon's site showed a serious slump in the use of the camera phones it offered. People bought the phones but few used the data services and 3G offerings that came with it. Even Verizon's effort to lock it's users of bluetooth phones out of the ability to transfer anything but the phone book via bluetooth, effectively forcing them to pay for the use of companie's data services anyway, did not help matters. It is concievable, that allowing customers of rival companies to exchange media messages would encourage more use of data services for camera phone users.

Seriously though, text messaging was a rare and largely unused and unadvertised cell phone utility for many years here in the US. However, several years ago, there was a large serge in both use and advertisement of the feature. This corresponded with At&T and Verizon reaching agreement to allow their users to text between providers. Why? Well, most people in this country select wireless phone providers less on what their friends use and more for convenience sake. Try texting once or twice to a friend, it doesn't work... why bother figuring out why? Limiting text messaging to just within provider quickly rendered the utility useless for many people. This largely unadvertized limitation put breaks on creating a critical mass of users that would have helped push for a wide adoption of the technology in the country. I am amused that it took Verizon and Cingular so long to realize that the same fate awaited media messaging unless there were to reach an agreement quickly.