Verizon Wireless Goes Open Access

Well, as Opus used to say, knock me over with a feather. Wasn't I just writing about the power of the market? And here we have the biggest (and best) example yet. Verizon Wireless announced yesterday that it's going open-access, and will allow any mobile device that meets a "minimal technical standard" on its network. There's now an open market for CDMA handsets. Holy cow! This is huge, and might be the biggest story of the year. No kidding.

I am the world's biggest fan of net neutrality (requiring that carriers must in fact carry any legal traffic) and open access (requiring that carriers allow any compatible device on their network). But don't the horrible fascists who run carriers hate this stuff? I think they do. This is certainly a pre-emptive strike by Verizon, who, after all, recently sued back in September to stop open access in the 700 MHz. bands, realizing that open access is an unstoppable feather heading their direction and seeking relief via the only channel left to them - the courts. The suit was subsequently withdrawn, although the industry's trade association, the CTIA, has taken up the mantle here. Verizon thus becomes the good guys, an industry leader with the vision and business sense to know a trend when they see one. I personally congratulate Verizon Wireless on this decision, and I'm renewing my contract with them when it's up next year.

Moreover, Verizon has pledged to handle any application as well - does that sound like net neutrality to you? And Verizon promises to have openness available to all users by the end of next year. They're expanding their testing lab will even host a developer's conference to review technical requirements. I'm looking for the asterisk here, but there doesn't seem to be one. Congratulations, Verizon Wireless! And now, how about the rest of you carriers? Keep those press releases coming!

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