Verizon Wireless Opens Up To Us!

No doubt spurred by the open access requirements in the 700Mhz spectrum auction, Verizon Wireless has done a complete 180 degree turn and announced that it will provide open access to any device and any application on its network, provided you pay for the bandwidth you use:

Here's how it will work: early next year, the company will publish the technical standards needed to connect to the Verizon network. It will also host a conference with device developers to learn more about their needs and to help with any problems that arise. Verizon has also dropped another $20 million into its certification lab, and any device maker who wants to connect to Verizon's network will first need to be certified for proper network connectivity procedures. Nothing else will be checked.

All applications, operating systems, and runtime environments are supported so long as the devices connect properly to Verizon's CDMA network (they can make use of either the company's cellular and PCS bandwidth). The fee for certification of devices will be "surprisingly reasonable," we're told, and the program will be open to anyone. One Verizon exec went so far as to say that if someone builds a device in their basement on a breadboard, Verizon will test it and activate it. Smaller players will definitely be able to get in on the action, something that hasn't previously been possible.

The move is a complete reversal of past policies, where Verizon Wireless even sued the FCC over open access requirements of the 700Mhz auction.

Verizon has even promised to make the network completely neutral, with no bandwitdth caps and no VoIP blocking whatsoever.

Verizon hasn't announced the pricing for the bandwidth at this time, so we'll have to see if they'll capitalise on the good news of this announcement by setting reasonable prices that will truly attract the innovation that such an open network would foster.

It seems that someone at the top finally got some sense knocked into them and realised that making your network open to more devices and more applications means more money flowing in from bandwidth usage. Verizon Wireless, for now, seems to have seen the light. Will the other telcos follow?