Pitching Security, FreedomPop to Offer Modified Galaxy S II With Encrypted Calling and Texting
With all the attention on the vulnerability of cellphone communications to snooping, a number of players are pitching more secure options. — They range from messaging app Wickr to Silent Circle …
Context & Ripple Effects
FreedomPop had built its wireless offer around free, no-contract service and Sprint-device activation. Its security pitch arrives as vendors move encryption from standalone apps into phones: CyanogenMod made encrypted texting a default feature, while companies were already marketing re-engineered phones after the NSA disclosures.
The move also joins Silent Circle and Geeksphone's privacy-focused Android phone project, making secure communications a handset-level product category rather than solely an app feature.
First-order effects
- FreedomPop gives buyers of its modified Galaxy S II encrypted calling and texting as part of a handset offer, expanding its proposition beyond low-cost wireless service.
- Galaxy S II buyers seeking protected communications gain an alternative to installing a separate security app or modified software.
Second-order effects
- Blackphone and other re-engineered-phone vendors face another security handset competing for buyers who want privacy protections integrated into the device.
- CyanogenMod's default encrypted messaging and FreedomPop's handset offer make encryption a more visible product differentiator for Android distributors and device sellers.
Third-order effects
- If handset sellers continue packaging protected communications, mobile privacy shifts from a specialist-app feature toward a basis for differentiating wireless plans, software distributions, and devices.
- The security-phone market may separate around who controls the communications stack: carriers and handset vendors can bundle protection, while independent apps must compete on interoperability and trust.
The trend: Encrypted mobile communications are moving from standalone privacy tools into differentiated handset and wireless-service offerings.