Verizon Wireless, the nation’s largest mobile operator, says today that it is not restricting or blocking customer access to Google Wallet.
The statement was delivered straight to the FCC by Verizon.
The controversy surrounding the allegation against Verizon stems back to Google Wallet still not being available to Verizon’s NFC-ready phones.
“Even after refuting reports that they were blocking the app, when they actually were blocking the app, it’s still an app that is only available to select unlocked phones and a couple of others on Sprint,” writes Droid Life. “Why is that?”
Verizon’s argument, according to today’s published report, alleges that since Google Wallet uses the “secure element on your phone, it needs to go through a separate approval process of theirs, one that Google apparently knows about already.”
We all know that Verizon has a competing service that’s on the way. For Google Wallet to have been released over a year ago and still find itself left off of the hundreds of NFC phones that are available, it feels like this is much bigger than Google following a special “process.”
So… do you buy that excuse?