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Follow-up: Verizon Wireless to open up in ’08

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BusinessWeek’s article, Verizon Embraces Google’s Android, discusses the sudden shift in Verizon Wireless’s business model, from tightly restricted to an open-access network, and how Google’s Android helped facilitate this shift. The article details how the open movement at the company was spearheaded by CEO Lowell McAdam.

Some highlights of Lowell McAdam from the article:

[Verizon Wireless’s] surprise embrace of an open-access model and of the Android software culminates a dramatic yearlong evolution in the company’s thinking. The effort, championed by McAdam, involved meetings with the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and late-night bull sessions with the top two executives at Verizon Communications, which owns Verizon Wireless in partnership with Vodafone.

McAdam was more amenable to shifting gears thanks to time spent during the 1990s in Europe and Asia, where the wireless industry is more of a free-for-all. …[he] says he was impressed that European and Asian mobile carriers backed technologies that allow subscribers to switch to rivals with ease.


The BusinessWeek article goes on to discuss how the open-access move could help reduce Verizon’s costs and help to combat market saturation in the US. The upcoming FCC wireless spectrum auction is also covered. Particularly, how the auction (and lobbying from Google and other tech companies for open-access) got McAdam to consider that a move to an open-access business model was necessary.

According to McAdam, Android was the final key influence in Verizon adopting an open-access business model. This is, of course, why Verizon is now “embracing” the Android platform. However, when Google first announced the release of Android, Verizon (along with AT&T) were absent from the press release. According to McAdam, the reason they did not sign on and support Android from the beginning is two-fold, “To get into that press release really didn’t do anything [for Verizon]…We needed to understand the details of that operating system.”

As I mentioned in my previous VZW open-access post, Verizon’s new open initiative will offer increased flexibility for VZW’s customers by allowing them to choose between VZW’s full service offering or going with a third party device and mobile applications. It was clear to me at the time of my previous post that “These innovative [third party] mobile web applications will initially be developed through the Android Open Handset Alliance.” McAdam also sees the potential in the Android Platform by saying, “Clearly the Android system gives a lot of developers the opportunity to develop applications for a wide range of handsets.” Clearly, if a lot of developers start developing applications, we are bound to get at least a few very innovative and useful applications from Android. Right? I can’t wait to see how much the US wireless market changes in the next few years.

Verizon Wireless to open up in ’08

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Today Verizon Wireless announced a new open development initiative aimed at accelerating innovation and growth in the wireless market.

Verizon Wireless today announced that it will provide customers the option to use, on its nationwide wireless network, wireless devices, software and applications not offered by the company. Verizon Wireless plans to have this new choice available to customers throughout the country by the end of 2008.

Obviously, Verizon Wireless is feeling some pressure from the imminent arrival of Google in the wireless arena. This is a great decision by Verizon Wireless, because the decision makers at VZW had the foresight to see that fighting Google (and any potential partners) would be a losing proposition. In the long run they would simply lose subscribers looking for more device options and innovative mobile software and applications.

By giving their customers the choice of “bring-your-own” device service, Verizon Wireless is offering the best of both worlds. Customers bringing their own devices can enjoy the coverage and reliability of Verizon Wireless’s network, while also being able to pick and choose what software and applications they want to use. This option also offers a lot of flexibility and adaptability for business customers and mobile web users. These customers will be able to install and use the specific mobile applications they need to transact business and carry out other online activities that couldn’t be performed on a mobile device before. These innovative mobile web applications will initially be developed through the Android Open Handset Alliance.

The only question I have is “I wonder how long it would have taken Verizon to open up like this if Google had not made the move into the wireless market?” 😉

Googles Android

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I’m sure most of you have all read about Android from at least a dozen other places. For those who haven’t, Android is an open source software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications. Anybody can download the development kit from Google and design mobile applications on the Android platform. To attract some of the best and brightest developers, Google has launched the Android Developer Challenge.

The Android Developer Challenge will provide $10 million in awards for great mobile applications built on the Android platform. The Challenge will be broken down into two phases. During Challenge One, developers must submit their applications to Google between January 2 and March 3, 2008. The 50 most promising entries will each receive a $25,000 award to fund further development. The 50 developers will then be eligible for even greater recognition through ten $275,000 awards and ten $100,000 awards. The second part of the Challenge will launch after the first handsets built on the platform become available in the second half of 2008. Google doesn’t go into specifics about what Challenge Two will entail.

The primary aim of the challenge is to encourage the development of innovative and useful applications that promote a better mobile experience. These mobile applications will become excellent tools for franchises and small businesses to attract potential customers. Applications that focus on local search and location based services can heighten a small business’s visibility for a certain geographic area. For example, a business traveler could use this application to find dry cleaning companies close to his or her hotel, see what services they offer, their business hours, and read reviews from previous customers. Another example could be a bar using a location based service application to display an ad about their after work drink specials. The bar could have the application ad only display on mobile phones within a two mile radius of their physical address, thereby highly focusing the ad to their target.

The possibilities are truly endless with Google’s Android platform. It will be very interesting to see what applications come about in the next two years and how these applications will benefit local businesses. If you’re a small business or franchise owner, keep an eye out for continuing developments with the Android platform.