“At a time of numerous developments in the mobile phone world, carrier Verizon Wireless has announced it is now to support Google’s Android initiative.”
Exactly one week after announcing it would open up its network to compatible phones and applications, Verizon Wireless on Tuesday surprised the industry once again by admitting in an interview with BusinessWeek that it will accept (and possibly sell) Google’s forthcoming Android-based cell phones.
“Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam said in an interview that his company will support Google Inc.’s Android wireless software platform just days after separately announcing an open-access initiative for the carrier.”
“We are planning on using Android,” McAdam told BusinessWeek in an article posted yesterday. “Android is an enabler of what we do.”
The move now puts the company’s chief rival, AT&T, at an obvious disadvantage. Verizon’s decision to accept the phones was characterized by McAdam, as a necessary “enabler” that will let the wireless provider move towards a truly open platform.
The move will see Verizon use Google’s Linux-based, open-source Android operating system on some phones. A Verizon Wireless representative admitted that the company may even start offering Android-based phones when they debut in the middle of 2008.
“Prior to this turnaround, the company had been one of the major carriers withholding support for the initiative, which is intended to function as an open and free mobile platform.”
Previously, Verizon has often been held as an example of the restrictiveness allowed by American telecom regulations, with the company often insisting on its customized software and disabling hardware features such as Bluetooth file transfers to drive customers to paid services.
The decision comes just days after Verizon announced its unlocked device strategy, which will create a second tier of service that allows users to use unlocked phones and other devices and run software that has not been explicitly sanctioned by the carrier, including potentially competitive software such as VoIP tools.
McAdam said in the interview that Verizon wanted to check out the platform and did not see the need to join the Open Handset Alliance when it was created. The alliance is led by Google Inc. and is the industry group behind Android.
McAdam did not specifically say how Verizon Wireless would show its support for Android, but presumably a newly open device-open application network would allow an Android device or application to run over it next year.
“Verizon officials were not immediately available to confirm the BusinessWeek report or to elaborate on how the company would support Android.”
Android, the open source, Linux-based mobile OS Google and its Open Handset Alliance partners are working on will ultimately help the Verizon Wireless offer these new open services and devices, according McAdam. It will also undoubtedly put even more pressure on AT&T, as three out of the four major U.S. carriers have now embraced the OHA.
For its own part, AT&T has said it will wait to see how Android shapes up before committing. An analyst group recently spoke with AT&T representative who said there are still a handful of outstanding questions that need to be answered before the company joins the open alliance.
This remarkable change of heart is Verizon’s second move towards openness in a week, was first triggered by efforts from Google and others to insist that the upcoming FCC auction for the 700MHz frequency band come with an open access rule, according to McAdam.
“Last week, the company announced that it would be opening its network to any “compatible” phones, not just those sold by Verizon.”
The sudden switch leaves three out of four major US carriers embracing the Open Handset Alliance, potentially isolating and increasing pressure on AT&T. While Sprint and T-Mobile signed on as Alliance launch partners, AT&T has so far remained on the sidelines and is only considering the move while retaining its existing policy.
As a GSM provider, AT&T is more open and allows users to run non-sanctioned, unlocked devices with a valid SIM (subscriber information) card but has not made any plans to carry phones of its own with unrestricted software.
“Some observers think that these moves will give Verizon Wireless an edge in the upcoming 700 MHz auction, and it may also be a case of opting for openness before regulatory mandates eventually force it on the wireless market — whether carriers like it or not.”
“It gets them out ahead of regulators who might force open networks, but on less favorable terms,” said Avi Greengart, principal analyst at Current Analysis, referring to Verizon’s announcement last week.
“If Google’s Android takes off, and Verizon gets Android on their network, it could also mean the company sees a whole host of new services,” he continued. “The hope is that there are going to be a whole new range of devices and apps that the carriers can not really predict in their central planning, mass market business models.”