Open access and seats at the table: A rapidly changing industry

One little press release can change everything (including this column).
Verizon Wireless’ announcement today that starting next year it will begin allowing any device and any application to work on its network is groundbreaking-and smart.
Verizon Wireless has a tradition of innovation, and this may be its brightest hour yet. You see, somewhere along the line, the word “carrier” became a dirty word. And that’s simply crazy.
Maybe it’s a sign that data applications are driving growth; the model Internet service providers follow is perceived as good and fair, because they open the network. And wireless carriers are part of the big bad phone company, with a “my way or the highway” attitude. I blame Walt Mossberg. (That’s a joke, by the way.)
Carriers were there in the beginning, and they offered such a neat application-mobility-that people were willing to pay for it. And they still are. They’ve cobbled together disparate networks and billing systems, kept their customers’ information safe and secure (for the most part) and free from spam. I’d argue the system works pretty well. If I’m unhappy with my carrier, there are a handful of other companies I can turn to. But the perception is that carriers don’t care about their customers.
Do carriers need to change in this dynamic universe? Obviously, yes, to some degree. However, the key word in that phrase is degree. The carrier owns the network-owns it and paid billions of dollars for it and multimillions of dollars every year to maintain it-and you can’t discount that.
Large media companies like Cartoon Network have their own relationships with their viewers, and it stands to reason that they will have their own relationship with their core audience on the cellphone.
The struggle between carriers and the rest of the ecosystem is really a fight for a seat at the table.
Verizon Wireless is smart to say, “Here, come sit by me” to the many developers and device makers out there.
Does that mean Nokia and Sony Ericsson are going to start making CDMA phones? I don’t know. But it’s good news for application developers. And it’s a step toward silencing critics screaming for an open network. Perhaps it will even help change the perception that Congress needs to legislate the relationship between carriers and their customers.