VZW: We will use Google's Android

During an interview with BusinessWeek, Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam said the carrier will support Google's recently announced open platform, Android. "We're planning on using Android," he said. "Android is an enabler of what we do."

McAdam said he led the charge toward the carrier's recent open access announcement, and the lead up involved meetings with the chairman of the FCC and late-night bull sessions with the top executives at parent company Verizon Communications.

So why wasn't Verizon Wireless a charter member of Google's Open Handset Alliance? "To get into that press release really didn't do anything," McAdam said. "We needed to understand the details of that operating system." Once Verizon Wireless engineers took a look at the details, the carrier not only decided that it would support the platform but that it would open its own network, too. "Android really facilitated this move," McAdam said. -Brian

For more on Verizon Wireless' open access move:
-read this BusinessWeek article

Related articles:
Verizon Wireless embraces open access. Now what?
Google unveils Android, Open Handset Alliance