During the last few months of 2007 American wireless operators got into a major cock fight over who was the most open of them all. Verizon claiming they are an open operator is like proclaiming Britney Spears is capable of critical thinking, yet they’re on a mission to walk the talk. With the switch to LTE taking place by the close of this decade and now the decision to publish a rule book of specifications in March that device manufactures can use to hope to the newly “open” network, they certainly are looking a lot more credible.
From personal experience Verizon is the worst when it comes to locking down devices, but I’ve been in situations where I’ve had no service yet my buddies rocking the communist red Z have.
Small Update: Via Gizmodo the exact day in March is the 19th