Developer reaction mixed on Verizon Wireless news

Verizon Wireless said it will take a wrecking ball to its notorious garden walls, opening its network to third-party devices and applications. What that means for developers and consumers, though, is far from clear.
The nation’s No. 2 carrier-generally the most closed mobile operator in the United States-vowed to publish technical standards next year that will help developers create products that can operate on its network. Verizon also said it will host a conference to explain the standards and get feedback from developers “on how to achieve the company’s goals for network performance while making it easy for them to deliver services.”
The move was hailed by many onlookers as a forward-thinking effort that will boost the wireless data market, as it gives Verizon Wireless a new weapon against both entrenched operators and newcomers such as Google Inc.
“I think it’s definitely a good thing for subscribers,” said Martin Dunsby, a former Openwave Systems Inc. executive who recently took the reins at Vollee Inc., a mobile gaming startup. “It’s something that’s going to continue as a trend with the rest of the operators. Competition is shifting to who’s got the best services and best devices, rather than who can lock up the most subscribers.”
But others greeted the news dubiously, pointing to Verizon Wireless’ fight to prevent the Federal Communications Commission from implementing open-access mandates in the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction. Skeptics noted that Verizon Wireless has yet to divulge bandwidth limitations or how much it will charge subscribers to access third-party offerings-details that could make “open access” impractical for consumers.
“Basically, Verizon wants to be able to charge customers (at a price and rate still to be set) to access the services and applications they want on the devices they own,” industry observer Sascha Meinrath posted on his blog. “In essence, Verizon is adding a corporate tax that goes straight into their coffers for the so-called ‘privilege’ to run the services and applications you want, on the devices you’ve already bought and paid for.”
One surprising believer in Verizon Wireless’ motives was Jason Devitt, who earlier this year testified before Congress in favor of open-access mandates for the upcoming auction. Devitt, a mobile entrepreneur who founded Vindigo and is now CEO of the quiet startup Skydeck, said he was “shocked and delighted” at the news.
“I’m very pleased; obviously I think this is the right thing for Verizon to do,” said Devitt, who conceded that the move may be nothing more than “a stunning act of brinkmanship” to curry favor with both the FCC and consumers. “I think that they probably are quite sincere about doing this. . There are just other trends in the marketplace that make this inevitable.”