Apple as an Example for DISA

The Defense Information Systems Agency -- as I reported in our news feed today -- wants to become its own Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) for the 1 million wireless gadgets and devices in the Defense Department, and it looks like Apple might serve as a good example to emulate.

Under the MVNO model, DISA wants the cell carriers to provide essentially dumb pipes, while it manages all the gizmos, especially security. That's what Apple has done with the iPhone and then the iPad, breaking the traditional carrier model, where they controlled everything and gadget vendors were just part of the supply chain.

Apple turned that model on its head, dictating its terms to carriers eager to offer their subscribers smartphones with buzz, and making the device not the network the focus of the mobile experience.

It turns out that Apple even has a patent on incorporating its own MVNO into iPhones, according to an article earlier this month on the unwiredview.com website.

The site reported that Apple MVNO wants to have contracts/relations with all the carriers -- just like DISA -- and manage all its gadgets through a central database, which DISA also wants to do.

Maybe it's time for a high level visit by DISA execs to Apple HQ.