September 2010 Archives

Last night, while enjoying a beer at the swank rooftop bar of 230 5th, I found myself in a lively discussion about Verizon's seemingly new attitude towards openness. I was speaking with an executive of BilltoMobile, a company that made headlines earlier this year when it announced a relationship with Verizon Wireless. Through the agreement, developers of online games and communities are able to collect payment from users, that are also Verizon Wireless subscribers, on their monthly cell phone bill. At the time, the news was surprising to many telecom veterans (myself included) because Verizon's reputation for protecting its ecosystem is legendary (especially when customer touch points are involved).