AT&T's Lurie to push wireless beyond cell phones
NEW YORK, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Glenn Lurie, the executive who led AT&T Inc's (T.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) negotiations with Apple Inc (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) for its exclusive U.S. iPhone deal, will now work on introducing wireless links in devices other than cell phones.
AT&T, the biggest U.S. mobile service, said Lurie would head a new organization in the company to help promote the inclusion of cellular links in everything from computers and digital cameras to car-navigation and entertainment systems.
U.S. service providers, which have long kept tight control over which handsets their customers use, have been promising to become more open amid pressure from search giant Google Inc (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and as they look for ways to lessen their dependence on voice services with data services like mobile Web access.
As about 90 percent of U.S. consumers already have mobiles, Lurie said in an telephone interview with Reuters that future new subscriptions would have to come from wirelessly connecting previously unconnected devices.
"Where's the growth going to come from in our industry? It's really going to come from these new devices," said Lurie, who even expects dog collars to become connected.
"We're talking about potentially hundreds of different types of devices and many different models of how these devices are brought to market," he said.
The executive said that AT&T would see the first commercial products from the initiative in the first quarter. It plans to sell some AT&T-branded devices directly from its stores while others will go on sale at big box electronics retailers.
The executive did not name any potential partners and declined to comment on whether he was working to expand AT&T services to other Apple devices beyond iPhone. He also declined comment on whether the initiative could be impacted by the current economic slowdown.
AT&T's initiative follows moves earlier this year by No. 2 U.S. mobile service Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications (VZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), to allow any third-party device to work on its network.
Sprint Nextel (S.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the No. 3 U.S. mobile service, has also said it expects to connect a wide array of consumer electronics devices on a high-speed wireless network it plans to build via a proposed venture with Clearwire Corp (CLWR.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).
But AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint all run networks using incompatible technologies, which require electronics makers to chose one standard or shoulder the cost of designing separate devices to support each one.
AT&T noted that its network runs on GSM, the most widely used wireless technology around the world. Verizon's network is based on CDMA, a standard that is popular in the United States, while the Clearwire network will be based on an emerging technology known as WiMax.
Lurie said that there would likely be more tight agreements between device makers and service providers like AT&T's agreement with Apple and that some devices would likely include chips that can connect to different types of networks.
Besides heading the emerging devices unit, Lurie will continue to run the company's national distribution business. (Reporting by Sinead Carew; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Bernard Orr)
