Day: February 17, 2004

Via NewsForge, Integration Developer News reports on a new WS- spec: WS-Discovery.  The spec is designed to make web services work among both wired and wireless devices on a local network.

When reading about WS-Discovery, I keep thinking of a similar technology that is already out there: Rendezvous/Zeroconf.  WS-Discovery seems like a very specialized solution that Rendezvous/Zeroconf may have already solved.  I’m sure that the way everything works is quite different, but on the surface it just “feels” the same.

I’m quite excited about what WS-Discovery might be able to do for mobile and context-specific applications.  For example:

mobile device: Hey!  I’m here!  What services are available to me?
WS-Discovery server: there is local access to the following services: foo, bar, baz.
mobile device: Sweet!  I know about baz.  I’m going to use it.  Thanks, WS-Discovery server! <cheezy grin>

Update: after some poking around, I managed to find the WS-Discovery spec at MSDN.  I already have a headache from a cold/flu, so I’m not going to read it in detail right now.  It looks just about as complex and painful as any other WS- spec that has come down the road.

Via Phonescoop, Cingular nabs AT&T Wireless for $41 billion:

Cingular Wireless LLC, a joint venture between SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE: SBC) and BellSouth Corp. (NYSE: BLS), announced today an agreement to acquire AT&T Wireless (NYSE: AWE), creating the premier wireless carrier in the United States. Today, the combined company would have 46 million customers and one of the most advanced digital networks in the U.S., with spectrum in 49 states and coverage in 97 of the top 100 markets. The combined 2003 annual revenues of the two companies would have exceeded $32 billion.

This really should be good news to everyone involved.  Cingular definitely seems committed to GSM technology, AT&T is the only one with EDGE nationwide.  With the combined capital and customer base, ATTular should be poised to take a jump at full-bore 3G as soon as it is an option.

I am a little worried about how this is going to affect roaming agreements with my carrier, T-Mobile.  I know that in several markets (San Francisco in particular) Cingular and T-Mobile share a lot of towers and coverage.  I’m worried about some of these roaming deals may dissapear.now that ATTular has the clout to do what it wishes.

It will also be interesting to see how the merger/takeover/purchase will affect phone and plan prices.  When my contract is up with T-Mobile, will it be worth switching over to them?  It would really take a lot to get me to switch over.  I’ve been nothing but impressed with T-Mobile since day 1.  Their customer support is quick and awesome, they don’t treat you like dirt at their retail stores (I’ve been treated very badly at Sprint stores and when asking questions at AT&T Wireless stores), and their coverage is good (but not perfect) and their billing is simple and consistent.

Once everything is figured out, this new company is going to be a force to reckon with.