In what is either a response to Google's Android mobile operating
system or an attempt to butter up the FCC for the upcoming 700 Mhz
spectrum auctions or just a smart business move, Verizon Wireless is
opening up its cellular network to any device or application that
meets the "minimal technical standard" to run on its network. That
means pretty much any CDMA device or application, even ones that are
not officially offered by Verizon. The devices and apps will have to
be tested and certified in a new $20 million Verizon lab being set up
for that purpose, but by early next year if you don't like the phones
that Verizon sells, you will be able to bring your own unlocked CDMA
phone to the network—maybe one you bought from Sprint or overseas.
This move could help Verizon in its bid for the upcoming 700 MHz
spectrum auction, which will require that any winners allow open
access to devices and applications on any resulting wireless network.
By adopting those same principles for its current network, Verizon is
showing a lot of good faith that could win it points in Washington.
Maybe the other wireless carriers (AT&T, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile) will
feel compelled to do the same. That would be good for consumers,
entrepreneurs, and innovation. The wireless networks should be more
like the Internet. Any device or app should be able to run on any
wireless network, as long as it meets a minimal set of technical and
security requirements.
When Google was trying to gear up support for its open-source mobile
operating system Android, Verizon was one of the companies Google was
rumored to be talking with, but did not end up being part of the Open
Handset Alliance (which included T-Mobile and Sprint Nextel). Verizon
may still join the Open Handset Alliance in its own sweet time, but
this move suggests that it would rather compete by trying to attract
mobile developers to its own network. Verizon is not embracing an
open-source approach (which is probably why Microsoft is all gung-ho
about the announcement), but it will give mobile developers access to
its vast network and 64 million subscribers. You didn't think Verizon
was just going to let Google waltz right in and take its customers for
a spin, did you? But if Verizon doesn't make it easy for developers
and unaffiliated device manufacturers to get onto its network, it
could end up tripping over its own feet.
