Verizon Wireless recently announced that they are "opening up" their network, claiming that anyone sign up for their wireless service without having to purchase a phone through them, as long as the phone is compatible with their network. I'm not clear on the details, and I've held off on pursuing them because I'm skeptical of Verizon Wireless doing anything that would jeopardize their market position. I use Verizon because in my area, I've experienced the best reception with their network. However, I've been very frustrated with their phone selection, or lack thereof. I still have my Motorola e815 even well after 2 years. Its a great phone, and when it came to "upgrade", the choices were pitiful.
Mind you, the only reason why I'm still happy with the Motorola e815 is that I was able to use after market software to edit the phone's configuration and restore original functionality, which Verizon Wireless deliberately disabled.
On the land-line side of things, Verizon has allegedly infringed upon the busybox software by not complying with GPL terms. They are allegedly using the busybox software program in their FIOS routers, but have failed to distribute the source code for busybox as required by the GPL. The Software Freedom Law Center has filed suit against them, and a similar case against Monsoon. This should be an interesting case, and since its more about licensing than telecom, we'll be following it at our sister site, Informed Licensing.