Verizon Opens Up Wireless Network

On the heels of Google's plans for an open-source wireless platform, Verizon Wireless has announced that it will open up its own network to any compatible phone and will allow access to third-party applications. Sprint is currently the only other major carrier using CDMA technology, and Verizon had been fiercely protective of its network, reports the Wall Street Journal.

"I think it's a reaction to Google. I think it'll help them. It gives customers more options," one analyst says. The decision may also have to do with the upcoming FCC auction of a profitable piece of the radio spectrum. The company that wins will have to have an open network, a regulation Verizon had opposed before now. (More Google stories.)