Google holds Verizon’s feet to fire on 700MHz open access
This is going to be an interesting battle. The 700 MHz spectrum in the C block that Verizon won in the recent FCC auction requires open access — i.e., any application on any device can use the spectrum. Verizon’s position is that there will be two paths to the network, one entirely open (and thus compliant with these rules), and one with more limited devices that are supported by Verizon. Google believes the rules require all devices, whether distributed by Verizon or someone else, to support all apps.
The right answer, I suspect, is somewhere in the middle. Verizon will undoubtedly distribute lots of devices (one possible example: wireless devices that report electric meter usage) that simply cannot and should not support open applications. So the rules need to accept that some devices will not be open.
At the same time, the rules were explicitly designed so that the winner, at a bare minimum, would not be able to turn off or disable features (e.g., GPS, Bluetooth) that devices already include. That’s clear.
But how much obligation does Verizon have to distribute and support truly “open devices” — a much bigger task than simply not crippling the devices it does sell? I think the rules are ambiguous on that. It should be an interesting fight.
