Verizon Wireless: Any CDMA cell phone will be allowed on network - CNET News.com

CNET News :

Verizon Wireless marches into the open
By Tom Krazit - November 27, 2007, 10:08 AM PST

Verizon Wireless announced plans Tuesday to let any cell phone compatible
with its technology run on its network, and to let owners of those devices
run any application they desire, by the end of next year.

That would mean that any U.S. customer of Sprint's, which also uses the CDMA
(code division multiple access) cellular networking technology, could use
his or her phone on Verizon's data network. But the decision to open up the
network to outside applications is a clear nod to the growing interest in
mobile phones as an application development platform by companies like
Google, and a dramatic departure from Verizon's usual practice of locking
down its phones.


Even though it hasn't quite satisfied all of its critics on the subject,
Verizon in the past few weeks has taken significant steps--including
Tuesday's announcement--toward opening its network to devices and software
not offered by the company.

As ZDNet's Larry Dignan points out, Verizon is responding to competitive
forces such as the iPhone and Google's Open Handset Alliance. And, in fact,
the company more than hinted it would be moving in this direction in
October, when it filed to dismiss its appeals court petition arguing against
Federal Communications Commission open-access rules for the upcoming auction
of 700MHz wireless spectrum.

Consumer groups on Tuesday praised Verizon Wireless for the initiative,
which will include technical testing and a full rollout in 2008, but noted
that it is not fully fleshed out. ""This is surely a step in the right
direction, but its shortcomings underscore the need for regulations to
guarantee Americans the same rights on wireless networks that they have on
landlines. Verizon's plan still doesn't guarantee access for all devices,
and it is uncertain how much Verizon may charge customers for the right to
use their own equipment," Harold Feld, senior vice president of the Media
Access Project, said in a statement.

And Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of consumer group Public
Knowledge, said in statement that while Verizon's announcement is cause for
"cautious optimism," it also is "very limited. If other carriers don't
follow the same model, then consumers will still find their phones tied to a
specific technology or wireless company. Until they do, an iPhone will still
be useless on any network but AT&T's. In order for an open network to become
a reality, all carriers will have to participate."

Verizon has 63.8 million users on its network. That makes it the
second-largest carrier in the U.S., behind AT&T and ahead of Sprint and
T-Mobile.

CNET News.com's Richard Defendorf contributed to this report.

> Verizon Wireless announced plans Tuesday to let any cell phone compatible
> with its technology run on its network, and to let owners of those devices
> run any application they desire, by the end of next year.

You realize what this means, of course.

Instead of being locked into purchasing BREW applications, you can buy a
Sprint phone and run Java Mobile Edition apps. BREW is heavily locked down
by Verizon. Sprint phones can download a J2ME app off a website, over the
air, and auto-install it.

Very cool.

Should have been done years ago.

--
Steve Sobol, Victorville, CA PGP:0xE3AE35ED www.SteveSobol.com
Geek-for-hire. Details: http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevesobol

["Followup-To:" header set to alt.cellular.]
On 2007-11-28, Pegleg <Pegleg@usnavyret.mil> wrote:
> On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 20:17:23 +0000 (UTC), Steve Sobol
><sjsobol@JustThe.net> wrote:
>
>>Instead of being locked into purchasing BREW applications, you can buy a
>>Sprint phone and run Java Mobile Edition apps. BREW is heavily locked down
>>by Verizon. Sprint phones can download a J2ME app off a website, over the
>>air, and auto-install it.
>
> Does Java Mobile run over CDMA?

Java Mobile is an application development platform independent of the radio
technology used by the carrier. Sprint's CDMA phones, including the Samsung
handsets I had when I was on Sprint, run Java. Cingular's GSM phones run Java,
and all of my family's T-Mobile GSM phones run Java.

Alltel and Verizon run BREW, not because Java is incompatible with CDMA, but
because they made a business decision to use BREW instead.

--
Steve Sobol, Victorville, CA PGP:0xE3AE35ED www.SteveSobol.com
Geek-for-hire. Details: http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevesobol

Steve Sobol wrote:
>> Verizon Wireless announced plans Tuesday to let any cell phone compatible
>> with its technology run on its network, and to let owners of those devices
>> run any application they desire, by the end of next year.
>
> You realize what this means, of course.
>
> Instead of being locked into purchasing BREW applications, you can buy a
> Sprint phone and run Java Mobile Edition apps. BREW is heavily locked down
> by Verizon. Sprint phones can download a J2ME app off a website, over the
> air, and auto-install it.
>
> Very cool.
>
> Should have been done years ago.
>

I interpret it as being marketing speak. The coming "open network" is
defined as being a "limited open" network because it is limited to
devices they approve. So it is just another version of the "limited
unlimited" broadband.

["Followup-To:" header set to alt.cellular.]
On 2007-11-28, George <george@nospam.invalid> wrote:

> I interpret it as being marketing speak. The coming "open network" is
> defined as being a "limited open" network because it is limited to
> devices they approve. So it is just another version of the "limited
> unlimited" broadband.

It sounded to me like they would "approve" any device compatible with their
network, which is not as limited as what you're talking about. But I could be
wrong.

--
Steve Sobol, Victorville, CA PGP:0xE3AE35ED www.SteveSobol.com
Geek-for-hire. Details: http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevesobol