"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," appears to be Verizon Wireless' new motto as it today announced an impressive "open access" plan for its network that will go into effect next year. Any application can run on any device from any developer and will have full access to Verizon spectrum, so long as it can properly connect to the network. Google, can you hear us now?

In a conference call this morning, Verizon's top brass insisted that the news had nothing to do with political pressure or with the upcoming 700MHz spectrum auction (which will require some winners to abide by such open access rules). However, they also made clear that Verizon's open solution will be in place in 2008, not in 2011 (when the new 700MHz spectrum owner could conceivably start bringing a new network online).

Here's how it will work: early next year, the company will publish the technical standards needed to connect to the Verizon network. It will also host a conference with device developers to learn more about their needs and to help with any problems that arise. Verizon has also dropped another $20 million into its certification lab, and any device maker who wants to connect to Verizon's network will first need to be certified for proper network connectivity procedures. Nothing else will be checked.

All applications, operating systems, and runtime environments are supported so long as the devices connect properly to Verizon's CDMA network (they can make use of either the company's cellular and PCS bandwidth). The fee for certification of devices will be "surprisingly reasonable," we're told, and the program will be open to anyone. One Verizon exec went so far as to say that if someone builds a device in their basement on a breadboard, Verizon will test it and activate it. Smaller players will definitely be able to get in on the action, something that hasn't previously been possible.

According to Verizon, the move is driven by two things: more sophisticated customer needs and an explosion in innovation. Verizon, which has traditionally certified all devices and apps that run on its network, increasingly finds itself unable to market devices to appeal to every customer niche. While it will primarily remain a full-service carrier that sells subsidized handsets directly to customers, Verizon is adding this second connectivity option for customers who want it.

John Stratton, Verizon's chief marketing officer, noted that Verizon will support far more than simply handsets, and it hopes that the move to open its network will unleash an explosion of wireless innovation. Everything from wireless water meters to digital cameras to game devices can feature Verizon connectivity without needing a Verizon-built or approved device. The only limits will be "subject to the imagination of the marketplace," said Stratton.

Bandwidth caps? VoIP blocking? Forget it. Verizon insists that under the new program, all apps really will be allowed and no caps will be imposed so long as people are willing to pay for the bandwidth being used.

The announcement "shows that the competitive market responds to market forces," said CEO Lowell McAdam, but Verizon's timing suggests that more than market forces were at work. Government rules seem to have played a part as well. The open access plan was revealed only days before the deadline for companies to announce official interest in the upcoming 700MHz spectrum auction. That auction will feature open access rules (pushed by Google and others) on a big chunk of its spectrum, and Verizon wasn't real thrilled about those rules back in September, when it sued the FCC over them (it later relented and pulled the lawsuit). Now, it is embracing open access on all of its existing spectrum.

But those open access rules would have been required for all devices; Verizon's own plan is being offered as a complement to its traditional, full-service model, and it expects that most customers will be happy with the access they get now. Those who aren't, but would love access to the coverage provided by Verizon, can now access the network using whatever devices fit their own needs.

The move also comes as Google announced its intentions both to bid on such spectrum and to release its Android open-source handset OS. Verizon's move looks like a canny attempt at undermining some of the interest that has surrounded these announcements, but it's not as though Google has a real desire to become a national network operator of some kind; if the wireless carriers voluntarily open their networks to Google apps and services, that's the most important thing. In that sense, it appears that the pressure for openness brought by companies like Skype and Google and thinkers like Dr. Tim Wu have paid off.

Microsoft is also supporting the move. In a statement, the senior vice president of the Mobile Communications Business, Pieter Knook, said that "Microsoft is very excited to see Verizon Wireless make such a bold move to satisfy the demands of wireless consumers. As people's mobile needs become more sophisticated and varied, they will require smarter and more adaptable mobile devices. We are proud to support any open access that puts more power in people's hands to connect them to the information they want when and where they want it."

The move is sure to generate tremendous interest on the part of device makers and the geekerati alike. So long as Verizon maintains its reputation for having the best national coverage of the major networks (and can keep prices reasonable), it has little to fear even from other wireless operators who open their networks as well. The result could be a huge win for those consumers willing to pay full price for wireless devices that do what they want them to do.

Much of this will depend on pricing models, of course, but Verizon had nothing to share; the details are still being worked out.