Verizon Wireless to join Google’s Android effort: No. 2 carrier continues pursuit of ‘open’

One feather, two caps. Verizon Wireless’ CEO Lowell McAdam told BusinessWeek, in a story published today, that the carrier would join Google Inc.’s open-source effort known as Android.
The move gives Verizon Wireless an additional PR boost in its well-publicized pursuit of all things “open,” and lends further credence to Google’s efforts to deliver a widespread handset platform that could serve its mobile advertising ambitions.
Verizon Wireless in late November declared that it would open its network to devices beyond its own portfolio, if those devices met minimum technical standards. The carrier’s announcement followed a summer in which “open access” became a condition for the purchase of a slice of the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction and Verizon Wireless’ rival AT&T Mobility faced criticism over Apple Inc.’s iPhones, which are locked to its network.
Declaring its “openness”-appealing in concept, with pesky details to come-is bound to pay PR dividends to Verizon Wireless, which appears to be crafting a hybrid approach of control/open access.
The carrier can continue to offer a subsidized portfolio of customized handsets to produce revenue from branded data services, while at the same time expanding its user base by allowing anyone with a CDMA device to use its network. Verizon Wireless has not said what the business model for the latter group of users will be, but it may well include incentives or conditions designed to draw customers from other carriers such as CDMA rival Sprint Nextel Corp., which has struggled to retain its subscribers.
Verizon Wireless’ pursuit of the “openness” mantle is all about business, according to Albert Lin, analyst at American Technology Research. Lin said last week that Verizon Wireless’ control of its network has delivered enviable profits, but that its embrace of “openness”-depending on how it is handled-may be a bid for expanding its market share in pursuit of AT&T Mobility, currently the leading U.S. operator in terms of subscriber numbers.
Meanwhile, Verizon Wireless’ interest in Android is likely to add further credibility to Google’s Android play, which needs all the players it can get to produce the sort of momentum that could lift it above myriad other Linux-based, open-source efforts.