@ UBS Media Week: Denny Strigl, CEO, Verizon Communications; Explaining Open; Hesitant on Ads

In just a matter of days, Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless has managed to go from being the much-reviled walled garden to the self-proclaimed leader in open networks. And Verizon Communications CEO Denny Strigl is clearly loving how rapidly his company has turned the tables; during his lunchtime keynote address to the UBS Global Media & Communications Conference, Strigl practically wagged his finger at the rest of the industry, telling other players that they must join Verizon in embracing openness, as if the rest had given this concept no thought at all. After giving a metric-heavy overview of the company’s finances, he got down to explaining the rationale behind its latest announcements.

Open access & LTE : The basic idea is made to sound good: third party developers can come up with things, ideas, products that the company couldn’t come up with or deliver itself, so the goal is to have a pro-developer model. This is also, as Strigl noted, the reason it’s going with LTE for its 4G network, “We wanted to signal to the developer world in particular that we are a technology that will be worldwide… developers go where the volume is.” In other words, a CDMA-based 4G would have a more difficult time attracting developers. He added that the LTE rollout would not be a major contributor to capex, which he likened to the rollout of EVDO. During the Q&A, someone asked whether Verizon is concerned that third parties will compete with some of its own services, such as a third party selling music. Strigl’s answer (not an exact quote): ‘well, yeah, that’s sorta the point.’ Others can sell whatever services they like and Verizon will make money on usage fees. At one point, he predicted that other operator’s would follow Verizon’s lead, but that things wouldn’t take off until the concept got more buy-in from third parties, including handset makers.

Android: Following the original open access announcement, Verizon milked the hype cycle a little more by making a statement of support for Google’s (NSDQ: GOOG) Android platform. But as Strigl explained, “(We) support it, just as we would support any other OS.”

Mobile advertising: During the Q&A, Strigl was asked about the opportunity in mobile advertising, and again he managed to position the company as being the most pro-consumer: “I have concerns about mobile advertising… my concern is, what do customers really want.” “To my way of thinking, customers have to opt-in.” While he expressed confidence that mobile advertising will grow into something significant, he insisted “We will not be first to market.”

Quad Play: “We think it’s very important… there are only two providers in the US that have the ability to do that.” “Too early to tell what the uptake will be.”

Network: In keeping with the company’s ad campaigns, Strigl insisted that the company’s success would come from the strength of its network, which he said would become the preferred platform for a host of applications (he specifically mentioned wireless social networking).

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