Verizon Wireless opened up its network this week. As the shock wears off, the question becomes: What did it really do?

Telephony’s Kevin Fitchard provides a great overview of the announcement, noting Verizon’s plan to publish technical standards for building devices and applications to work on its network and establish a testing facility to certify gear.

This is clearly a major change of direction for the operator. As Kevin notes, Verizon is well known for its tight control over user interfaces and on-deck applications. As a CDMA-based operator, users can’t buy an unlocked phone to use on its network, like its GSM counterparts. At times, it’s even disabled phone functionality (on-phone GPS) for its own technology (VZNavigator).

Writes Kevin: “For most of its consumer data services, it individually certifies applications and phones and handles each content transaction over Qualcomm’s BREW platform. That approach has created one the industry’s most formidable walled gardens, virtually locking out millions of content transactions from third-party developers and severely limiting the services customers can access with their phones.”

So Verizon should get kudos for its forward-thinking approach, certainly. And it certainly stands counter (along with Google’s Android project) to AT&T and Apple’s one device/one network approach.


But questions remain:

• Is this really just a game theorist gambit to knock Google off-balance in the bidding for “open access” 700 MHz spectrum?
• Why now? Not too long ago Verizon was a rumored partner in Google’s Open Handset Alliance before competitors Sprint and T-Mobile ended up in the press release. Why go this route and not that one?
• Is it simply recognition that its CDMA network was no longer getting the hot new phones compared to GSM counterparts?
• How big a part of its overall strategy is this open approach? Verizon gave every indication it will continue to sell subsidized, walled-garden phones on its own.
• Will Verizon’s walled-garden be significantly cheaper than its open access network? What will users get for what price?

What do you make of Verizon’s move? Bold or calculated? To be applauded or viewed with skepticism? Let me know.

E-mail me at rkarpinksi@telephonyonline.com.