Sprint, T-Mobile Sign Deal for Sharing Camera-Phone Photos

Jul. 8–Sprint Corp. and T-Mobile on Thursday became the latest wireless companies to drop the corporate barrier on camera-phone photos.

The nation’s No. 3 and No. 4 wireless companies announced a deal that will allow their customers to send photos and videos back and forth.

The deal is Sprint’s first U.S. photo-sharing agreement. Cingular Wireless and Verizon Wireless announced a similar deal for their customers in March.

Ever since wireless companies began adding cameras to phones about three years ago, their customers have been somewhat restricted on how they can share photos.

Sprint customers, for instance, could send photos directly to the phones of other Sprint customers, or to any e-mail address. But they couldn’t send them to the phones of customers of T-Mobile.

“Interoperability” agreements between wireless companies can be tricky, involving issues ranging from technology that doesn’t match up to cooperation with a competitor. It took years before the large wireless companies allowed customers to send text messages to customers of competitors.

“Sprint continuously looks for ways to enhance Sprint PCS Picture Mail service to make it easier and more convenient for its customers to share, print, store, manage and display digital images,” said Pierre Barbeau, general manager of Sprint’s Picture Mail service.

Michael Gallelli, director of product management for T-Mobile, said the company’s customers don’t care what network their friends use — they just want to communicate.

“T-Mobile’s customers want to expand their communications world by allowing more people — regardless of wireless provider — to receive their text, instant and picture messages,” Gallelli said.

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