Policy Management – CMO of Openet Discusses the Verizon iPhone Rollout with TMCnet
enero 25, 2011 - Openet
When Verizon’s announcement of the iPhone hit the wire earlier this month, it caused an uproar on the web. Besides current Verizon (News - Alert) customers’ initial excitement regarding the exclusive phone previously only offered by AT&T, a lot of questions were brought about concerning what the future holds for the Verizon iPhone (News - Alert) as it enters the mobile world next month.
Openet provides Subscriber Optimization Software to communication and media service providers enabling them to control, monetize and increase visibility into the usage of services and network resources. The policy management company’s software-based solutions empower operators to create new business models, simplify and personalize the subscriber experience, and maximize the value of network resources as they transform their legacy infrastructures to embrace the challenges to LTE, cloud computing, and other “next generation” business opportunities.
When news of Verizon carrying the iPhone began to leak, Openet (News - Alert) started thinking of how the news was going to affect the solutions it provides to its customers. Mike Manzo, CMO at Openet, spoke exclusively to TMCnet to share his thoughts on the merger between Verizon and Apple.
Manzo noted that the biggest question people are asking is whether Verizon will be able to handle the congestion management that AT&T (News 
- Alert) experienced with the iPhone.
“No one really knows whether Verizon has adequately prepared for the volume that the device tends to introduce to network operators,” Manzo said. “But my hunch is they have. They’ve waited long enough and prepared their network with a policy management infrastructure sufficiently in place, to handle the volume increase with stride.”
Another question that lingers is whether customers switching from AT&T to Verizon will be as high as market leaders are anticipating. Manzo thinks that some AT&T customers who are frustrated with AT&T’s services and may be up for contract renewal might switch to Verizon; however, he doesn’t see the shift being as monumental as its being predicted.
In terms of congestion management, Openet’s CMO was asked his general predictions as the iPhone is rolled out. His response: “I don’t care, well let me rephrase that. I do care but it deemphasizes the focus of what should really be the focus,” Manzo said.
“My true prediction is that Verizon’s network will see the issues but will fix them quickly after watching what AT&T has gone through and what obstacles they have come across in the past two or three years and prepared themselves,” he added.
When asked what smartphone he uses on a regular basis, Manzo admitted that he has the iPhone for AT&T as well as a Verizon Razor. Manzo has no desire to switch over to the Verizon iPhone when his contract expires next month. Instead, he plans to move towards the Android (News - Alert) market.
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