Verizon open network gets first, unsexy device

But the very first device to take advantage of the open network is decidedly less sexy, and it appears to be setting the tone for the first generation of gadgets on the network.

A wireless device from SupplyNet Communications, a 21-employee firm in Schaumburg, Ill., has been certified under Verizon's Open Development Initiative, the companies confirmed Thursday.

The battery-powered modem connects to a sensor that dips into large storage containers, like construction-site diesel tanks or tanks of shortening at a food factory. When a tank runs low, the modem zips off a text message to SupplyNet, which alerts the customer that it needs a refill.

It's an example of a so-called M2M or machine-to-machine application, where an automated system, like an alarm or a temperature gauge, reports its observations to a control center.

"Most of the devices that we are seeing are of the machine-to-machine type," said Tony Lewis, Verizon Wireless' vice president of open development.

The company has had "a couple of conversations" with some companies that are developing consumer cell phones under the program, Lewis said, but he doesn't know when those will come out.

Verizon Wireless, a joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group Plc., expected the first open-network products to be M2M devices because they fit well with the "barebones" model of the program. The carrier will sell wireless service wholesale for the devices, but won't provide customer support.

The Open Development Initiative was a substantial surprise when Verizon Wireless announced it in November. Before that, Verizon Wireless was known for keeping its network closed to devices it sold itself. It fought regulatory initiatives to force carriers to open up, saying that it needed to guard the integrity and reliability of its network against rogue devices.

But after the Federal Communications Commission announced it would apply an "open access" requirement to a section of desirable wireless spectrum set to be auctioned, Verizon Wireless announced it would open its doors to any device that passed a brief technical qualification process. It later bought most of the spectrum.