Comments on: Poll: Should Google take a stand against Verizon over Wallet?

By: Nora Conkle

Nora Conkle — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 03:58:08 +0000

Poll: Should Google take a stand against Verizon over Wallet? – GigaOm http://t.co/rbZ2W5bk

By: Kevin Fitchard

Kevin Fitchard — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:55:28 +0000

Joelhaus, Yep. If Google is going to pass someone will have to be its surrogate. It seems a case from a public interest group would be much more powerful if the manufacturer of the product in question was on board. I suspect we haven’t heard the last from Google on this matter. If behind the scene negotiations work, maybe they’ll make a bigger stink (or potential Wallet customers will make them).

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 08:54:57 +0000

@Joelhaus, your words; The spectrum is a public good and it’s important that we hold the corporations (e.g. Verizon) who receive rights to it accountable.
I agree democracy is important for public good.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 08:39:47 +0000

@Joelhaus, WP7 is virtually blocked by Verizon, as well as the other carriers. If one is not paying attention it looks like WP7 is supported. But if you look the product is ignored by sales staff, or phones are not set up to function properly, not activated, off in a corner, as well sales staff pushes android. You wont find it in a theoretical paper, but you can see the actual empirical fact if you look, investigate with your own brain and eyes. The carriers a smart about manipulation IE; they sell Data, voice, and text under the spin of consumer choice, BS it is all transmitted data. What it really is is a way to get more money out of us. Banks call overdraft protection a benefit for you, BS spin, it is a way to charge us. Its all about the money. Take HMO’s, big business hospitals, how could they get the doctors to push people through the system in a cost cutting way, how do you get certain pharmaceuticals pushed. You might ask, aren’t doctors usually pretty smart educated people? How can a bussiness model become more important than care for patients. the answer is continual education of the HMOs methods, the people that capitulate stay and are accepted, and those that don’t end up leaving. My point here is that its intelligent manipulation, rater that stark in your face bare knuckle control. WP7 platform is shunned, for “free” Android. We are just talking about payment systems, imagine how MS must feel. But I’m tired of talking about this stuff now.

By: joelhaus

joelhaus — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 06:30:39 +0000

@Dave – Something you just said might point to the source of any misunderstanding we have:

“What would be the point of fighting for payment if in the process the platform for which it would be on loses the armies pushing Android.”

For me, Verizon blocking Google Wallet on the Galaxy Nexus is only an example (albeit, an excellent one) of the more fundamental issue at play: carriers blocking device manufacturers and applications from competing for consumers.

I would make the same argument if Verizon was blocking a Blackberry or Windows phone from installing applications that compete with Verizon’s own offerings (e.g. ISIS v. {INSERT_APP_DEVELOPERS} Wallet). I believe we agree that there is a mutual dependency between carriers & device/software providers, but my previous comment explains why I wouldn’t waste time laying the blame at the feet of either Microsoft or RIM, and it goes on to explain why Google is even less culpable.

Thanks to Google getting the Open-Access rules implemented for the 2008 C Block spectrum auction, the public and the government now has a very strong basis for standing up to the carriers when they exhibit this type of anti-competitive behavior. The spectrum is a public good and it’s important that we hold the corporations (e.g. Verizon) who receive rights to it accountable.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 05:16:54 +0000

Well said Kevin, it is about the Android platform expanding due to companies of power pushing Android. What would be the point of fighting for payment if in the process the platform for which it would be on loses the armies pushing Android.
@Joelhaus, the point was not to cast blame, I agree carriers use their power to manipulate and dominate. The point is no matter what we think about their ways, Google has the force of that “monopoly power” pushing Android. Justification; trained attack pitbulls is not so bad , as long as the pitbulls are fighting on your behalf.

By: joelhaus

joelhaus — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 02:23:08 +0000

One more important thing, given the sensitive nature of Google’s relationship with Verizon that you point out, it clearly falls on the Public and the Government to push for enforcement of the C Block Spectrum auction rules.

In fact, we should be extremely grateful to Google that we even have this opportunity to fight back. Without Google’s vast resources and foresight during the 2008 auction, Verizon would have been under no obligation to run their 700mhz network with open-access rules for devices and applications.

By: joelhaus

joelhaus — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 02:08:25 +0000

Kevin, Seems we are actually on the same page, thanks for taking the time to reply… it frustrates me when carriers are able to push off blame for their own anti-competitive practices and Dave’s comment seemed too friendly to the carriers by half.

By: joelhaus

joelhaus — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 01:55:35 +0000

@Dave – Thanks for the response, but when formulating opinions on products, markets and business practices, I find it best to follow well supported microeconomic theories and historic facts rather than going with my gut… even when I don’t like what those facts have to say.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT%26T_Corporation#Erosion_of_.22a_natural_monopoly.22

By: Kevin Fitchard

Kevin Fitchard — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:21:58 +0000

Hi Joelhaus, I agree with everything you say. I think we’re just focusing on different aspects of the discussion. Google has every interest in getting Wallet pushed as far and wide as it can, but Google isn’t dealing just in individual applications now. Any fight it has with Verizon could damage its extremely lucrative partnership with its biggest U.S. distributor. Verizon isn’t going to yank all Android phones from its racks, but it could shift more focus to another platform. It has the iPhone so isn’t as dependent on Google as it was when the smartphone rage began. If Google knows it will eventually get Wallet onto VZ phones by working with it behind the scenes, I think that’s exactly what it will do rather than press a public open access case against its partner.

Sure, Verizon is to blame for blocking Wallet. The point of this story and poll, though, was to explain how Google may have other motives that prevent it from making a big open access stink.