I have often criticized Verizon Wireless on my blog. The main reason has been that it (like all other wireless carriers in U.S.) acts like an old-line company refusing to get with the times. It bribes us with locked-in phones so we can't change service for two years. So I swore that when my contract was up, I would buy an unlocked phone.
But the worst thing is that it has had huge fights with Google. It has been the most reluctant company to open up to outside apps. And I hate the Verizon apps. I couldn't even get gmail or Google Maps on the handset I (mistakenly) bought two years ago. Google took the fight to the FCC's 700 MHz auction in order to open up this spectrum. It lost to Verizon. (Nice summary by Susan Crawford of U Michigan Law School here.)
Now Verizon is opening up. It has already started offering more outside apps. After turning down the opportunity to become the first carrier to offer the Google Android phones (it apparently turned down the opportunity to be the first to carry the iPhone, according to one of my sources) it is now embracing the new Nexus One coming out next spring.
And here's a personal note on Verizon's customer service. A while back (I can't remember exactly when) I went to the Verizon Wireless online site and cancelled every service except basic calling, since the other services were useless to me. Since I get paperless bills via email, I didn't check the details as often as I should. And there they were: charges for VCast, email and IM that I thought were gone. An extra $35 a month or so.
I sent an email to customer service to complain even though I was past the dispute period. To my surprise, I got a very satisfactory response. A Verizon Wireless rep named Sylvia examined the detail, could not find what went wrong, but decided to credit me $103 anyway.
That is customer service I never would have expected from a phone company. Verizon Wireless seems to be getting with the program and the realities of doing business in the 21st Century.
I may actually decide to stay with Verizon Wireless and get a new Nexus One next Spring. Maybe it wil even do some good things with the 700 MHz spectrum. Or is that hoping for too much?