Interviews with Digital Media Thought Leaders
Verizon Wireless - The Importance of Being Open
Podcast Audio | Posted by Phil Leigh on December 1, 2007
If you would like to learn about the importance of Verizon’s announcement that it will be permitting its wireless network to become an open platform, this interview is for you.
Our guest today is Alan Reiter who has been a wireless industry consultant for nearly 30 years. He was with the leading Radio Common Carrier trade association before the first cellular licenses were awarded. Now he runs the Wireless Internet & Mobile Computing consultancy.
Last week Verizon Wireless announced a major shift in its position on non-carrier-offered devices and applications, saying it will begin activating any device that meets a “minimum technical standard” and will allow “any application the customer chooses” to be used on the devices. The new option will be available to customers throughout the country in the second half of next year.
Phil’s Take. The announcement essentially signals the pending arrival of the Wireless Internet. In an historical context, it is similar to the shift that AOL made about a dozen years ago away from a “walled garden” of content and toward open Internet access. That change induced an eruption of growth in the Wired Internet.
Similarly, Verizon’s action is likely to generate explosive growth in Internet activity on wireless devices. It shall almost certainly accelerate the trend toward versatile mobile units with screens the size of Apple’s iPhone, or larger. However, today’s iPhone is incompatible with Verizon’s CDMA protocol.
Categories: Podcast Audio
Tags: Alan Reiter, digital media, Open Network, Open Platforms, Phil Leigh, Verizon Wireless, wireless internet, Wireless Networks
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