Verizon Wireless Opens Network To Other Phones

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Verizon Wireless Tuesday said it will offer customers a broader choice in devices as it plans next year to open its network to mobile phones and other hardware not sold by the carrier.

Customers will be able to use any software or application on any approved device on its nationwide wireless network by the end of 2008, the Basking Ridge, N.J.-based service provider said in a statement.

It's an approach that could help stimulate tremendous revenue opportunities for solution providers working with technologies such as unified communications and fixed-mobile convergence (FMC), said Jeff Hiebert, CEO of ROI Networks, a solution provider in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

"This blurring of the line between land-based and wireless networks, SIP interoperability and FMC is white-hot. Asia and Europe are way ahead of the U.S. in delivering a workable solution, so for Verizon to make that kind of bold statement, that's huge," Hiebert said. "We're going to be reselling hardware and software that leverages the capabilities of these networks," he added.

Verizon Wireless plans early next year to publish technical standards that developers will have to adhere to in order for their devices to operate on its network. The company will test and approve devices in its $20 million testing lab and will activate any device that meets the minimum technical standard for use on the network. Customers will be able to use any applications they want on those approved devices, the company said.

"This is a transformation point in the 20-year history of mass market wireless devices -- one which we believe will set the table for the next level of innovation and growth," said Lowell McAdam, president and CEO of Verizon Wireless, in the statement.

Verizon Wireless will continue to offer phones and other devices but is opening the door for customers that put more value on choice than low-cost phones.

The strategy marks a digression from the cellular industry's status quo, which commonly focuses on locked handsets that trade customer choice for price subsidies from the carriers. It's certainly an about-face for Verizon Wireless, which is seen as one of most restrictive networks in the country.

NEXT: Google's Push For Open Mobility

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