Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Mobile Learning News: Verizon goes to BYOP model



Must be a cold day in hell. Check this out.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Verizon Wireless will break with the rest of the U.S. cell phone industry and become the first mobile operator to let customers use any phone on its network, the company announced Tuesday.

All I've got to say is WOW!
First Google, now THIS! What's next...FREE iPhones for all AT&T subscribers?

This is great news for users and for developers of mobile learning content. Looks like Verizon and Google will battle it out to buy the C block. Can you imagine cell phone speeds at the rate of cable or DSL? 2008 is looking to be an interesting year already.

2 comments:

Harold Jarche said...

I think this is great and hope this becomes the norm, but I wonder ...

Do you think that there is a first-mover advantage in being more open? If the others follow, will Verizon lose any lead it gets? Also, how much of a competitive advantage does Verizon think it has gained?

bschlenker said...

Hi Harold! Great questions! I think the BIG story is in who wins the auction for the c-block wireless spectrum. If Verizon wins then YES they will have a significant advantage, but if Google wins then it depends if the other carriers follow and open up their services as well. I can't imagine ANY closed systems in the future. The pressure is far TOO great for OPENNESS.
Great to hear from you Harold. I hope your holiday season is full of good times!
Cheers!