Can Microsoft wrestle control of updates from the wireless carriers?

Back in March we wrote about something called Project Milkyway which was discussed during a Windows 10 briefing at the WinHec 2015 conference.

Project Milkyway was an ambitious plan to get Windows 10 updates out to end users within 4-6 weeks of their availability.

Anyone who has been using a Windows Phone device knows that it can take a very long time for updates to get past the carriers once Microsoft has made them available for distribution.  If Windows Phone users could get updates in 4-6 weeks after their availability then that would be record breaking in most circumstances.

Well it appears, based on a new report from ZD Net's Ed Bott, that Microsoft is very sincere in their intentions to take over this process so that end users do not have to wait for updates.

Their intent to make these updates continuously available to users shows up in Terry Myerson's Windows Update for Business blog post from early May.

Among the info in that post about the new Windows Update for Business there is this sentence:

"Here at Microsoft, we take our responsibility to keep Windows secure seriously. We follow up on all reported security issues, continuously probe our software with leading edge techniques, and proactively update supported devices with necessary updates to address issues. And today, we’re announcing this continuous update process applies to all Windows 10 devices, including phones."

Microsoft's new model of Windows as a Service, which Rod wrote about last week, depends on the capability to get updates onto end users devices in a timely manner. 

It is feasible that updates could roll out monthly and any delay by carriers of more than four weeks could seriously impact the update cycle as Microsoft envisions it.

The only way Windows as a Service works is for Microsoft to have complete control of when those updates get pushed out. We are talking Apple level control of updates through the carriers something that many Windows Phone users have been envious of over the years.

Also, it is not by accident that Microsoft specifically mentions phones in that quote by Terry Myerson because that is where the hold up as been all along since Windows Phone hit the market back in 2010.

As a Windows Phone user who has been at the mercy of my wireless carrier for significant updates to my platform I really want to see this work.

The big question is can Microsoft pull it off?

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