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 NEWSMicrosoft, AT&T form wireless alliance By Scarlet Pruitt July 31, 2002 7:21 am PT update IN ANOTHER STEP aimed at catapulting its software onto mobile devices, Microsoft announced Wednesday that it has struck an alliance with AT&T Wireless Services to provide new wireless services and devices to business customers.
The agreement also heralds the first set of services and devices powered by Microsoft's Pocket PC Phone Edition software, which are set to be available in the fourth quarter of this year, the companies said. The agreement, announced by Microsoft chief executive officer Steve Ballmer during a conference call from New York, is just the latest in a series of partnerships the software maker has sewn up with wireless carriers. Microsoft is hoping to leverage its dominance with desktop business software to grab a large part of the burgeoning wireless software market. The two Redmond, Washington-based companies have been working together for the last six months and are in the last stages of product development and customer trials, Ballmer said. The deal is not exclusive, however, given that both companies are eager to gobble up the most market share they can. "Steve wants his operating system in every device and we want to carry the back-up services in every device," AT&T Wireless chairman and chief executive officer John Zeglis said during the call. Pocket PC devices boasting the new wireless services are due out in the fourth quarter of this year and smart phones should be rolling out in early 2003, Zeglis said. The Pocket PC Phone Edition devices will be equipped with integrated GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) and GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) voice and data-calling capabilities. The companies are also developing a voice-enabled PDA (personal digital assistant) powered by Microsoft's Pocket PC Phone Edition software that will also be available in the fourth-quarter. Additionally, AT&T plans to offer phones running Microsoft Windows Powered Smartphone 2002 software. The device manufacturer will be revealed very shortly, Zeglis said. In addition to offering business customers wireless data services, the companies are also unveiling .Net location-based services using MapPoint .Net mapping and location services and .Net Compact framework. "We are very enthusiastic about these services," Ballmer said, noting that AT&T is the first wireless carrier to offer the enterprise grade .Net location services. Zeglis added that all the services in development will be "stunningly easy" for companies to deploy and use. "This business of wireless data is just getting started," Zeglis said. "Until now it hasn't been easy enough to have wireless data travel with you." The companies said that they will be integrating point-and-click features in the new devices that access wireless services, making them easy to use "out of the box." Microsoft and AT&T will co-market the products and services. Additionally, AT&T will push the devices through its retail channels. The deal is a coup for both companies, according to telecom industry analyst Jeff Kagan of Marietta, Georgia. "This partnership is a win-win for both Microsoft and AT&T Wireless because it brings everything together ... customers, revenues, state of the art wireless data networks and cutting edge content, software and applications," Kagan said in an e-mail analysis of the deal. The partnership also highlights Microsoft's aggressiveness when it comes to tackling a new market. "It's becoming clear that Microsoft wants to own the wireless data market like they own the desktop," Kagan said. "Microsoft is trying to make lightning strike twice." Scarlet Pruitt is a Boston correspondent for the IDG News Service, an InfoWorld affiliate. SPONSORED WHITE PAPERS 
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