USATODAY reports that, starting immediately, AT&T customers can use any wireless phone, device and software application from any maker, without having to sign a contract.

“You can use any handset on our network you want,” says Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T’s wireless business. “We don’t prohibit it, or even police it.”

AT&T’s move comes after Verizon announced plans to open their network in 2008, and after Google announced its intent to bid on wireless spectrum.
Everything that Google has promised to bring to the wireless market a year from now AT&T is doing today, de la Vega says. “We are the most open wireless company in the industry.”

Device Explosion

Network openness is likely to lead to an explosion of device development, as it did in the analog phone industry. A 1968 FCC decision opened up the analog phone network to third-party devices, which led to the development of answering machines, faxes, cordless phones and even the dial-up Internet.

Expect to see a similar boon in new mobile device development in the next few years as developers create entire new classes of mobile devices.

We’ll be looking for new devices that offer sophisticated content publishing capabilities, turning cell phones into mobile media platforms.

Update: techdirt has an opposing, snarky view, saying “AT&T Does Nothing, Convinces Reporter It Has Now ‘Opened’ Its Network”.