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Verizon Wireless Epiphany Brain Transplant What

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by Kevin Maney
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Nov 27 2007 12:00am EDT

Verizon Wireless: Epiphany? Brain Transplant? What?

The tech world is atwitter over the news about Verizon Wireless sort-of-mostly opening up its cellular network to any device. A well-done basic explainer of what this means can be found on PCMag.com.

This is a development that gadget makers want, cell phone makers want, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin wants. Actually, if it breaks the business model of wireless carriers subsidizing cell phones for consumers, even the carriers will be happy.

But...what happened inside Verizon Wireless? The company until now had been the control freak of the wireless industry. It seemed to believe in the dogma that if it built the network, it should be able to control every device on it and, to a large extent, what people do with those devices. This kind of shift is like right-wing Republicans turning against the war in Iraq, the Catholic church embracing women priests, or James Bond getting married.

Hallelujah. Let's hope we see more of it in the wireless industry.

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