NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Verizon Wireless will break with the rest of the U.S. cell phone industry and become the first mobile operator to let customers use any phone on its network, the company announced Tuesday.

The No. 2 U.S. wireless operator said that, by the end of 2008, its customers could use phones and other devices that they've purchased anywhere, as long as they meet certain standards.

It is a major change for Verizon Wireless, which had previously only sold phones and service together as a package. U.S. cell phone carriers dictate the type of phones customers may use.

"This really represents a 180-degree turnaround from where Verizon was before," said Harold Feld, senior vice president of the Media Access Project, a public interest group. "Until about a year ago, the model for the wireless industry was, 'We own the network, we control what's on the network.' Verizon, like the other carriers, was very aggressive about controlling the look and feel of its products."

Feld said that Verizon was likely prodded by the emergence of Google (Charts, Fortune 500) as an open platform player (working together with Sprint (Charts, Fortune 500) and T-Mobile) and the recent public dissatisfaction with the locking of the iPhone.

"Verizon was very quick on the uptake, turning around and realizing these changes weren't challenges to their business model but opportunities," he added.
Going gaga over Google mobile

Phones and devices that access Verizon Wireless' network will still have to meet technical standards dictated by Verizon - and the company said it would publish guidelines for designing software and devices for the network early in 2008.

It is expected that Verizon and Google will be the two main bidders to have operating rights for a piece of the high-speed wireless spectrum called the C Block.

If Verizon posted the highest bid and took over the spectrum, it could offer wireless Internet access across the country at speeds comparable to DSL and cable, said Feld.

Federal stipulations require that the winning bidder be open to all devices and applications, he said, so Verizon's move Tuesday makes them ready for a potential network expansion.

Verizon was not available for comment.

Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Britain's Vodafone PLC.

Shares of Verizon Communications (Charts, Fortune 500) climbed 0.6 percent on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday afternoon, while U.S. shares of Vodafone (Charts) were little changed. Rival Sprint Nextel (Charts, Fortune 500) was down 2.5 percent, while AT&T (Charts, Fortune 500) was 1.3 percent higher.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/27/tech...ion=2007112718

 

this takes effect early 08 right? SWEEEEEEEET i can get a Iphone on Verizon.

 

How the hell will GPS phones work on Verizon...

 

You meant to say "How the hell will GSM phones work on Verizon's CDMA network," right?

They (i.e. I-phone) won't...

 

right...

 

Haha... I actually like VZW (that's not saying a lot though)
Glad they are doing this, means I can just keep my Motorola Q until 08

 

a good reason for me to get some verizon stock

 

Good news (even though I have an iPhone). Always nice to see power taken from the carrier as they become more and more like an ISP.

 

Maybe I'll return the 3 phones I just got and wait til I can get an I-phone.

I just got 2 of the Samsung Gleams to replace my aging phones.

 

Verizon still sucks. I'll rock Sprint with free incoming plans over verizon anyday. Plus sprints online network is faster, and they dont limit you with sling player and other data heavy streaming.

 

Damn and I just purchased a new Verizon phone...though I love my Samsung i760!

 

Bump for the GSM to CDMA question.

 

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,14...s/article.html
Verizon Wireless' Open Network Earns Praise
Wednesday, November 28, 2007 2:00 PM PST

Verizon Wireless' decision to open its network to outside mobile devices and applications has won praise from several groups, including past critics.

Verizon Wireless officials announced Tuesday they would open up their network to any devices and software customers want to use by the second half of 2008. Any device that passes a minimal connectivity test will be allowed on the Verizon Wireless network, officials said.

That announcement drew applause from a wide variety of groups. Public Knowledge, a consumer rights group that has pushed for open network regulations from the U.S. Congress or the Federal Communications Commission, said it was "cautiously optimistic" about Verizon's decision.

Verizon's decision could lead to "a more open network in the wireless industry at large," said Gigi Sohn, Public Knowledge's president. Wireless carriers have fought an FCC decision to require open access on a portion of spectrum in the 700MHz band to be auctioned starting in January, she noted.

"The Verizon announcement, however, is very limited," Sohn added. "If other carriers don't follow the same model, then consumers will still find their phones tied to a specific technology or wireless company. In order for an open network to become a reality, all carriers will have to participate."

Verizon will still decide what phones can operate on its network, she said. Public Knowledge would prefer to have a third party decide what phones can operate on the Verizon network, she said.

She also has continuing questions about prices. If Verizon continues to offer its preferred mobile phones at a discount, "then the adoption of the open model will be minimal, absent a rapid decline in cell phone prices," Sohn said. "We need to know whether the rates for Verizon service plans will vary for those with subsidized phones and for those customers with a phone bought elsewhere."

Others were less guarded with their praise.

Verizon's announcement, combined with the Google-led Open Handset Alliance, is a "significant" step toward the goal of more open wireless networks, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, said in a statement.

"As I noted when we adopted open network rules for our upcoming spectrum auction, wireless customers should be able to use the wireless device of their choice and download whatever software they want onto it," Martin added. "I continue to believe that more openness -- at the network, device, and application level -- helps foster innovation and enhances consumers' freedom and choice in purchasing wireless service. I am optimistic that Verizon Wireless's commitment along with the upcoming spectrum auction will ensure an exciting new era in wireless technology for the benefit of all consumers."

Solveig Singleton, an adjunct senior fellow with Maryland think tank the Free State Foundation, said Verizon's voluntary decision makes more sense than open network regulations such as net-neutrality rules pushed by Public Knowledge and other groups.

"Requiring openness or neutrality beyond the basics now supported by demand would needlessly make development far more costly and slow," she wrote in an e-mail. "A company that wants to invent a new type of phone with cutting-edge features already has a good bit to think about without having to worry about new phones and networks being simultaneously built by everyone else."

Many proposed net-neutrality rules would require wireless and broadband providers to treat all network traffic equally, she said.

"Mandate 'open' and 'neutral' everywhere all the time for everything, and innovation will slow to a snail's pace and network traffic will jam," she added. "Competition between operators to offer innovative combinations of services at special prices would become almost impossible. In this fast-changing context, a regulatory command to treat all traffic all the same is just a bad idea."

Also praising Verizon's decision were Funambol, a developer of open-source calendar and messaging tools for mobile phones, and the New America Foundation, a think tank that has pushed for open access rules on the 700MHz spectrum

The FCC and Google deserve credit for pushing the issue forward, said Michael Calabrese, director of New America's Wireless Future Program.

"This appears to be a move to head off market entry and new wireless competition from Google and other Internet companies that would result if the incumbent carriers were unwilling to meet minimal FCC consumer choice requirements," he said in an e-mail.

 

any more info on this? So are they going to GSM, or what exactly is this going to do?

 

I'd like to know as well. I'm sick and tired of using these crap ass phones.

 

iphone is looking better each day... VZW better do something.

 

the i phone is a piece of shit, and gsm phones wont work on a cdma network. goodness..

 

aww, sounds like someone cant afford one :gheylaugh:

 

sounds good been looking for a replacement for my en-v and nothing has been worthy as of yet.

ps iphone users hows text messaging on there?? i have the itouch i find typing to be a bitch on there... is it basically the same thing? or a little better?

 

I like typing on it. There is whole thread in where people praise or gripe about it.

 

basically, verizon is making a chip like the sim card for their phones. that's how GSM and CDMA phones will both work on this.
It will be happening very soon actually so any phone (even imported) phones will work.
However, i think they're also working on something to not allow outside phones other than verizon phones work on their network (ex. iphone)

 

Verizon open network: Verizon is NOT NOT NOT going to be allowing GSM phones on their network, they physically can't. 2 different frequencies, unless Verizon builds out a GSM network (Never will happen) you will never see an iPhone/at&t/T-mobile phone on verizon's network. period. What Verizon is proposing is that you can bring your CDMA phone (i.e. Sprint) to their network assuming it is unlocked. Also companies would be able to build devices that utilized the CDMA network (Think a camera that auto uploads pictures to your flickr account) as long as it meets their standards. And btw, you've been able to do this on at&t for years, any GSM 850 phone you can use on their network.

iPhone texting: It's different, it takes some practice to get used to, since there is no physical buttons it's hard to tell what you're typing. Autocorrect ftw!

Sprint vs. Verizon: Both are using the Rev. A standard now, both are effectively the same.

tl;dr You will never have an iPhone on Verizon

 

oh and you've been able to do this on GSM networks since the beginning. They're basically loosening their grip on their own shit.


CDMA = FAIL



Personally don't like the iPhone. Any Nokia Flagship phone blows it out of the water.

 

Agreed, now if we could get U.S. Providers to realize that there is a demand for N and E series Nokia Phones. I keep hearing rumors about N95 for AT&T! Woot for not dropping 5-6 bills on a phone.

 

Good for Verizon!

The one thing that has always kept me away from them is their shitty selection of phones