Dear Verizon Wireless,

2008 has been a year of significant transformational milestones in US wireless and mobile - the 700 MHz auction, the TV white space decision, the iPhone & its first mobile applications long tail market, plans towards a standardized 4G system for the US, the mobile OpenSource OS movement, and so on. These libertarian movements will surely propel the US wireless industry into a new era of innovation and global leadership, and I congratulate you in your role to support them.

From a much smaller scale but still significant corner of this journal, I would also like to extend congratulations and thanks for your decision to free GPS access for BlackBerry models in your handset portfolio. Developers, publishers, and artists have welcomed the news and are looking forward to building autonomous applications independent of the assisted network, PDE, and BOBO system, once APIs are available across more CDMA devices. While I fully expect VZ Navigator and other core VZW LBS applications to continue to benefit from your direct marketing and sales efforts as they should, it's refreshing to learn you have decided to unlock hardware features needed by off-deck applications as well. The decision will no doubt lure more application innovation to your network ultimately introducing your customers to more choice, but I suspect it will also create even more demand for your own branded applications with well deserved and continued success for you and your key application partners.

Again, congratulations and and thank you! This is a wonderful early gift in the spirit of the season.

Regards, Jon