During his keynote at CTIA Orange Group chief executive Sanjiv Ahuja warned that carriers need to improve their customer experience in order to avoid becoming “content pipes”. Becoming a dumb pipe seems to be most carriers’ worst nightmare, and they normally try and fight it by restricting what can be done on their handsets. Ahuja’s argument that carriers can keep customers buying their content and services rather than a third party’s by making it a really good experience is refreshing. If a carrier’s offering is halfway decent they shouldn’t need to block third-party access because they will always have the advantage of better integration and simpler service. “It’s the experience that differentiates our brand,” said Ahuja. “We as an industry must not lose sight of what our brands can offer to customers.”