Last fall, Verizon Wireless announced plans to throw open the gates of its networks. The announcement came as a shock to many because VZW has traditionally been the most closed of all carriers. It had allowed only preauthorized applications onto its handsets, and more than any operator, Verizon has fought Google’s attempts to lobby the FCC for open-access requirements on the 700 MHz spectrum.

Verizon’s change of heart appears to be simultaneously defensive and proactive. If open access is inevitable, then Verizon wants to have more control over how it opens up, rather than simply succumbing to federally mandated regulations. At the same time, Verizon is acknowledging that as the wireless data experience begins to more closely resemble wireline Internet, the network must open up.

When Verizon announced its plans, Lowell McAdam, CEO of VZW, said no carrier can keep up with the current pace of innovation in mobile Internet applications. “Soon Verizon Wireless will not be able to meet every customer’s needs with our current portfolio of devices and applications,” McAdam said. While most customers still will want the retail services Verizon offers, he said, a growing subset will want to embrace the Internet model, and Verizon must provide for them.

But McAdam made it clear that the new model has both good and bad points. The customer service and support, assured QOS, and direct billing that Verizon offers to retail customers can’t be offered on an open network. “Whatever applications are downloaded to the device are the choice and responsibility of the customer,” he said.

It was no coincidence that two days later, Verizon revealed its plan to roll out a 4G network using long term evolution (LTE) technology. If Verizon is the winner of the 700 MHz open-access block, the LTE network it builds in that spectrum will be open by mandate. The FCC is requiring that the network support any application or device that doesn’t harm the network. “Harming the network” is open to interpretation, so Verizon is looking to establish its own precedent regarding what devices would be safe to use with an internal testing program. Any device that meets minimum operability requirements will be certified for its network. Verizon hasn’t been clear, though, on what criteria it will look for in testing. Unlike Sprint’s Xohm network, which would support any device certified by the WiMAX Forum, VZW is calling its own shots.

But Dick Lynch, chief technology officer for Verizon, said the company has every incentive to truly open its network to all comers. The new LTE network will deliver not just high capacity, it will be more efficient than 3G. Verizon needs to encourage as many use cases for that kind of capacity as possible, Lynch said.

Furthermore, LTE will be the first wireless technology Verizon can link to its wireline broadband assets, creating a continuum between its home and mobile broadband services. It will be hard for Verizon to keep one network open and one closed if it intends to sell a unified broadband service.

“We don’t expect people are going to download [high-definition] video over the LTE network, but there will be other services that tightly integrate with FiOS,” Lynch said.

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