Back in 2011, news made its way around the Internet regarding a startup called Carrier IQ contracted to install software on various mobile phones. While bloatware is a scorn in the mobile world as is, Carrier IQ was something of a different beast.
The sole purpose of Carrier IQ was to monitor and track every single aspect of your day-to-day mobile life. From the places you went to the apps you used daily, Carrier IQ gave that information to carriers, all for the sake of building a “better customer experience.” Building such an experience is all well and good, however, the kicker with this software was that people didn’t know this was happening.
Since that time, Carrier IQ has kind of just rode off into the sunset not really making any waves. That is, until now. Apparently AT&T is nabbing up various bits of the company. Bits taken from the company include personnel and other assets.
“We’ve acquired the rights to Carrier iQ’s software, and some CIQ employees moved to AT&T. We useCIQ software solely to improve the customer’s network and wireless service experience. This is in line with our Privacy Policy and provides a great benefit to users of our network.”
Some of these technologies will be licensed out. Some of the customers and partners include: Nielsen, Ericsson, IBM, Symphony Teleca and Teradata with T-Mobile being the other major US carrier that uses the software.
While the acquisition is making news, the terms of the deal aren’t being disclosed. Included in that is just how much AT&T is going to pay for the Carrier IQ acquisition. One thing to note is that AT&T didn’t buy the company in its entirety. That means the carrier doesn’t assume responsibility for any “outstanding litigation or settlements against CIQ.”
Are you an AT&T user? If so, how do you feel about this acquisition? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.
[button link=”http://techcrunch.com/2015/12/30/att-snaps-up-assets-talent-from-carrier-iq-as-phone-monitoring-startup-goes-offline/” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: Tech Crunch[/button][button link=”http://www.droid-life.com/2015/12/30/att-acquires-carrier-iq-assets/” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Via: Droid-Life[/button]
Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
