Verizon goes contract-free but still ambivalent about openness
Published: 25 September, 2008
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Verizon Wireless has been starting to break down the heavily padlocked gates around its networks since it acquired a national 700MHz license in the US, which came with open access requirements. This week, as expected, the carrier started to offer contract-free services for the first time, enabling users to sign up for month-by-month plans with no longer term obligation, provided they bring their own device or pay the full price for their handset.
This option is already offered by some other US carriers, such as T-Mobile, which have been more proactive about shifting to an open internet model - and it is becoming common as a choice from many European carriers. But coming from Verizon, always famous for its tightly closed network and attachment to the walled garden model, the change is a real sign of the times - and a significant step towards full open access, when users can run any device and application (subject to carriers' security and compatibility checks) on any network, as in the PC internet.
Of course, the downside, from the consumer's point of view, is that open access means no more free or heavily subsidized devices. Verizon Wireless' new terms offer a month-to-month option that allows a user to change service or upgrade their phone at any time, but the handset price differences tell their own story. For instance, a Blackberry Curve from Verizon Wireless costs $100 with a contract, but $430 by itself; while an LG Chocolate is free with a two-year commitment, but $299 with a monthly deal.
AT&T offers a month-by-month plan for some handsets, and has hinted it will eventually extend this to the iPhone, as some operators elsewhere, notably O2 UK, are already doing. Under AT&T's rules, customers gain a SIM card to insert in their own devices.
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