BlackBerry CEO John Chen in his own INSIDE BlackBerry blog post call for neutrality not only for the web and carriers, but for content and app providers too. John Chen touched on Apple’s methods in locking iMessage just for Apple device and Netflix’s decision to not provide for BlackBerry customers.
John Chen laid out his points and arguments as to how neutrality should be handled. In simple words, he calls for neutrality not only for the internet, but for everything the internet serves its purpose to, which include devices such as smartphones and tablets.
Application/Content Neutrality. BlackBerry has been in the midst of a turnaround since I took over as Executive Chairman and CEO in November 2013. During the past 15 months the company has stabilized and introduced a variety of new products as we pivot away from our prior reliance on hardware to become a full-service, device-agnostic provider of highly secure and productive software and services. Our balance sheet is strong and our turnaround is proceeding apace.
Key to BlackBerry’s turnaround has been a strategy of application and content neutrality. For example, we opened up our proprietary BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service in 2013, making it available for download on our competitors’ devices. Tens of millions of iPhone and Android customers around the world have since downloaded BBM and are enjoying the service free of charge. Last year we introduced our secure BES12 mobile device management software, once again designed to manage not just BlackBerry phones but also available for enterprises and government agencies whose employees use iPhone and Android devices.
Unfortunately, not all content and applications providers have embraced openness and neutrality. Unlike BlackBerry, which allows iPhone users to download and use our BBM service, Apple does not allow BlackBerry or Android users to download Apple’s iMessage messaging service. Netflix, which has forcefully advocated for carrier neutrality, has discriminated against BlackBerry customers by refusing to make its streaming movie service available to them. Many other applications providers similarly offer service only to iPhone and Android users. This dynamic has created a two-tiered wireless broadband ecosystem, in which iPhone and Android users are able to access far more content and applications than customers using devices running other operating systems. These are precisely the sort of discriminatory practices that neutrality advocates have criticized at the carrier level.
Therefore, neutrality must be mandated at the application and content layer if we truly want a free, open and non-discriminatory internet. All wireless broadband customers must have the ability to access any lawful applications and content they choose, and applications/content providers must be prohibited from discriminating based on the customer’s mobile operating system.
I’ve always said the smartphone industry as we know it would be different if all apps were made available to all platforms. If each platform had the same amount and same quality of apps across the big four platforms, people might look at BlackBerry differently. However, I’m pretty sure John Chen is aware that the apps is what drives (and has driven people) to other brands and OS’ simply because of apps. Netflix has been vocal against providing for BlackBerry, as to going as far as blocking the web service on the BlackBerry Playbook. Apple has never provided mobile platforms other than it’s own with iTunes and iMessage, but the business wouldn’t be competitive if John Chen had it his way, so there’s fors and against in providing everything to everyone, but there you have it; John Chen is a big big fan of cross platform-ing.
Source: INSIDE BlackBerry