David Vivero

I had a thoroughly enjoyable drink with Rob Go from Spark Capital tonight in Central Square, and returned home to read this press release:

Verizon Wireless today announced that it will provide customers the option to use, on its nationwide wireless network, wireless devices, software and applications not offered by the company. Verizon Wireless plans to have this new choice available to customers throughout the country by the end of 2008. 

In early 2008, the company will publish the technical standards the development community will need to design products to interface with the Verizon Wireless network. Any device that meets the minimum technical standard will be activated on the network. Devices will be tested and approved in a $20 million state-of-the-art testing lab which received an additional investment this year to gear up for the anticipated new demand. Any application the customer chooses will be allowed on these devices.

My first question was: how many beers did I drink? This is impossible!

I am a Verizon user and have been for a long time: they’ve got the best coverage in the country, have some fantastic data speeds over their EVDO network, and their store service is actually quite good compared to the competitors. But one thing that always bugged me was their phone selection and the tight grip they always maintained on content for the phone. Their VCAST solution and the difficulty of getting any off-deck applications into the phone made Verizon a dangerous place for most mobile applications companies to play. For quite a while, when I was looking for companies to start or help, one of my few criteria was: does this company make the wireless world less complicated?

In 2008, it seems that it all changes, and I’m excited. I’m stoked for any companies (and I know a few) working on innovative new form factors and interfaces for connected devices, and I’m stoked for all the companies that will want to deliver content through the network. This will surely entail a shift in the economics of the mobile business, explained pretty well in this paper, and hopefully it will make it a far less complicated environment for entrepreneurs, investors, and end-users.

No doubt, the chilling fear of Google encouraged them to make this move.