We received a surprising amount of interest from last week’s coverage of the upcoming AT&T, Inc. service called NumberSync, and T-Mobile’s immediate-response announcement of plans to launch a similar product, enabling wearables and other mobile devices to send text messages from a user’s existing smartphone number. Finally, a way to keep in touch without being tied to your smartphone.

It’s clear SiliconANGLE readers are interested in what mobile carriers plan to offer for the emerging world of connected devices, but is such a service anything new?

Is this really that revolutionary?

While details are sparse on NumberSync, we already know that AT&T allows only one smartphone to be registered with a given phone number. That’s a downside for consumers hoping to use multiple phones on a single number.

There’s also indications that NumberSync will only work with LTE devices, excluding a hefty chunk of wearables and tablets that only support Wi-Fi connectivity.  So if you have Wi-Fi only smartwatches and tablets, then NumberSync won’t be of much use to you unless AT&T expands the scope of the program.

Multi-SIM

If you live outside the U.S. you’re probably laughing at AT&T, and T-Mobile USA, as their shared-number initiative has long existed to mobile users in other parts of the world.

Multi-SIM options for one plan, one number, multiple SIM cards, shared data, calls and SMS, have been around for years, even before smartphones were all the rage. You can use multi-SIM on various devices such as tablets, standalone smartwatches, and even another smartphone. Some of the international networks that offer multi-SIM capabilities include StarHub and M1 in Singapore, du and Etisalat in UAE, and Vodafone in Egypt, to name a few.

Google Voice

Anyone who ever used Google Voice will also feel a sense of deja vu with AT&T NumberSync. Google Voice allowed users to create one number, which they can use to call or send messages using any device. This includes being able to receive calls and messages, and even forward calls to a user’s real mobile number.

Google Voice was available for use on smartphones, desktops and even tablets, but the service has now been incorporated to Google Hangouts.

Messaging apps

Messaging apps like Line (Line Corp.) have already worked around carrier limitations, relying on Wi-Fi or cellular data for connectivity but utilizing a user’s mobile number for registration. This means that when you download an app on your smartphone, you use your mobile number to create an account. Then when you download the app on your desktop, tablet, or even smartwatch, you just indicate your mobile number and all your contacts and messages will also be available on those other devices.

Even if your smartphone is turned off, you will still be able to use Line on your tablet and desktop computer, and on your smartwatch if it doesn’t rely on your smartphone for connectivity.

Apple Continuity

Apple also offers a similar feature called Continuity. It allows you to start messages on your iPhone and finish it on your iPad, iPod touch or Mac. You can even set it up so that you can make and receive phone calls using devices other than your iPhone. But there’s a catch. Continuity only works if all your devices are on the same Wi-Fi network as your iPhone, and you need to sign in to your iCloud account on all your other Apple devices. If your iPhone is not turned on, or is on a different network, then Continuity won’t work.

More details needed

We won’t know for sure what NumberSync is all about until AT&T officially launches it. Will it just be multi-SIM finally being introduced in the U.S.? Is it a service that will eliminate the need for SIM cards? Will it be just an enhanced version of Google Voice? And What devices have AT&T planned for the service?  These are just some of the questions we hope AT&T will address in the coming weeks.

Photo by NEC Corporation of America