Just yesterday I was telling Kenton Shelley about how Verizon limits cell phone usage. This limiting factor was one of the primary reasons I abandoned the big V two years ago in favor of the much more open Cingular/AT&T.

Today, Verizon stunned pretty much everyone with the announcement that they were going to drastically open up their network. This new Verizon turns the cell phone provider into something much closer in appearance to a traditional, modern phone company.

All applications, operating systems, and runtime environments are supported so long as the devices connect properly to Verizon’s CDMA network (they can make use of either the company’s cellular and PCS bandwidth). - Ars Technica

Verizon’s official statement is that they are just trying to keep up with the changing wireless world and the changing wireless customer (true), one must contrast this change to the same Verizon that attempted to sue the FCC over forced openness in the upcoming 700mhz spectrum bid (realist), and the flutter or commotion caused by Googles Android/Open Handset Alliance announcments (bitter realist).

For more read here: TheStreet.com, Ars Technica