For those of you not in the wireless industry on a daily basis, I am sure you are wondering what the title of this post is all about. What in the world is a dumb pipe? Let me attempt to explain. Over the course of many years, networking in general has used the term “pipe” as a metaphor for the network. The idea behind this is that networks move bits, much as pipes move water. If you have a broadband connection to your house, you have a fairly big pipe at least for your downloads. At my house I get about 9.5 megabits per second on downloads. Compare that with several years ago when I had a 14.4K modem that actually supported something more like 10 kilobits per second download speeds. That was definitely a little pipe…maybe even a straw by today’s standards.
OK, so now you get the metaphor of a pipe. What is a dumb pipe. Well, until the advent of the iPhone, wireless carriers offered a number of services to their users beyond just the network. You bought much more from the carrier than just minutes, or bandwidth on a data connection. For instance, if you wanted an application for your phone, you bought it from the carrier. Need a ringtone? Buy it from the carrier. What about a wallpaper for your phone? You guessed it…the carrier. I could go on, but you’d get tired of reading, and I’d get tired of writing. I think you get the idea. The carrier not only provided the network, but a variety of products and services around that. In other words, they had a smart pipe. A network that not only provided the basics of moving calls and data, but also had a lot of extras you could purchase to enhance that network experience.
Enter the iPhone. Now you buy your apps, games, movies, music, and just about everything else, not from AT&T, but from Apple. AT&T, along with all the other carriers, is effectively becoming a dumb pipe. Dumb seems like a derogatory term, but it isn’t necessarily. It just means they provide the basic network service of handling voice and data, but not much in the way of frills beyond that. Ironically, this is the way all of the carriers (wireless and landline) started out. When I was growing up there was a rotary dial phone on the wall in our kitchen. I bet many of you were the same. That phone did one thing, and one thing only. It allowed us to make and receive phone calls from virtually anyplace in the world. No applications, no configurable ringtones, and no wallpaper, except for the funky chickens on the kitchen wallpaper. And no dropped calls by the way.
Now, after trying to make the move to smart pipes, the carriers seem to be willing to fill the roll of a dumb pipe. What got me started on this post was an article in Fierce Wireless talking about Verizon offering Skype on their smartphones. The article’s contention was that carriers would not become dumb pipes. I have to say that I disagree. Skype is already available on the iPhone. As an application, Skype really accentuates the concept of a dumb pipe, because using it, you essentially don’t even use the carrier for voice. Your voice gets turned into IP traffic, and then carried over the network as IP traffic, and turned back into audio on the other end. For you sticklers for detail who are more technically in tune with wireless networks, yes I know the Skype offering from Verizon actually uses the voice switched circuits, but my point is still valid. For those of you who have no idea what I just wrote about voice circuits…carry on.
My point is this: carriers seem to be embracing the role of a dumb pipe, in a way they have not in many years. They seem to be content to do what they do well…build and manage a network. This opens the door for many others who can come in an focus on a specific application, or a specific service, or your favorite ringtone. My personal belief is the carriers will do better allowing others to focus on these ancillary products and services, while they continue to focus on the network. I think this will provide a much richer experience for all of us. After all, auto makers don’t worry about making gasoline, tires, aftermarket stereos, XM radio service, or lots of other things that make driving our cars possible and entertaining. They focus on making cars. That in and off itself presents enough challenges. I think the same model will continue to enhance our mobile experience in the wireless world.
Twenty-four wireless telecommunications companies united to announce the 
As the industry continues to evolve, it would be a good idea to remember that the more things stay the same, the more they change. Actually I think the phrase goes the other way around, but stating it this way suits my purposes for this post.