It's been just a few days since Verizon Wireless announced that it will embrace an open network policy, rather than fight it. The company, a joint venture between Verizon Communications
Wireless technology developer Qualcomm
Qualcomm has been gearing up for a future that includes far more than just phones. The company started ratcheting up R&D spending years ago in anticipation of the very same sort of future that Verizon and others such as Google
A possible sneak peek at this future just hit the digital shelves at Amazon.com
The eventual success of Verizon's open-network experiment will largely come down to one thing: price. If access to Verizon's network carries constrictive pricing structures, it will be a pyrrhic victory for consumers. Even if open network carriers charge minimal "pay per use" fees, the costs must be negligible with respect to the service. Users won't pay a couple of bucks each time they want to upload a few photos.
Once again, true change is in the hands of the carriers. Device manufacturers and technology developers such as Qualcomm are definitely hoping that the open network revolution turns out to be more than a weak uprising, quickly dispersed by the absence of a viable business model.
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