So congrats to Reuters’ Yinka Adegoke and Sinead Carew, along with The Wall Street Journal’s Sam Schechner, Anton Troianovski and Spencer Ante on their new gigs! If you guys ever want to get together and trade tips (Google Analytics or Chartbeat? etc.) I’m totally down for a Meetup. It would be good to get out of my pajamas …

Meanwhile, this blogger can also report that Verizon has been talking to programmers about a Netflix-style video service. There don’t appear to be any signed deals, and there may not be anything formal on the table yet, so don’t expect to see anything until next spring at the earliest.

But the idea of offering packages of video programming, delivered over the Web, is a fairly straightforward one. Which is why it has also appealed to satellite TV provider Dish Networks, which has also had grown-up conversations about the idea. And to Microsoft, and Google, and Apple, whose discussions about it over the years haven’t progressed very far.

And, of course, to Hulu and Amazon, who are already doing it.

So we’re certain to see more “over the top” video from big brand names down the line. “Shame on those [Netflix] competitors for not being in the market years ago,” says a TV executive — who would be happy to sell any of them some programming when/if they do get into the market.

So if that’s the case, what does that mean for companies like Verizon, which sell traditional pay TV services right now?

Here McAdam, speaking at the UBS media/telco conference this morning, doesn’t just disagree with professional typers. He’s also butting rhetorical heads with Ivan Seidenberg, whose last job was … CEO of Verizon.

A year ago, Seidenberg told investors that “over the top” video — stuff that comes from the Web instead of a cable subscription — was going to be a big problem for pay TV services: “Young people are pretty smart. They’re not going to pay for something they don’t need to … Over the top is going to be a pretty big issue for cable.”

Nah, says the new guy, who takes the conventional line that over the top is a complement to his business, not a threat. Or at least not anytime soon. “We have a tendency to see trends like this in the industry and extrapolate it to become the majority. I think it will be many years before it is,” he said.

Still! McAdam did allow that Verizon was interested in offering stuff that sounds a whole lot like the “over the top” options that Reuters and the Journal reported about yesterday (and I am reporting this morning! From my basement!).

He acknowledged, as we reported earlier this year, that the company had kicked the tires on Hulu this summer. “We kind of  looked at that,” he said. “And we’ll continue to look at alternatives.”

“In terms of earnings growth and the acceleration of revenue growth, this has been one of Verizon’s best quarters since the 2008 economic downturn,” CEO Ivan Seidenberg said in a statement. “We expanded sequential margins in both our wireline and wireless businesses, and in the second half of the year we expect Verizon to build on this strong, positive momentum to continue to drive profitable, sustainable growth.”

The company also named Lowell McAdam as its CEO, effective Aug. 1, replacing Seidenberg as part of a planned transition. Seidenberg will remain Chairman. McAdam was head of Verizon Wireless until last September and most recently has been Verizon Communications president and COO.

The company said it activated 2.3 million iPhone 4 units in the quarter and 1.2 million devices that run on its high-speed 4G LTE network. In its earnings report on Thursday, AT&T said it sold 3.6 million iPhones last quarter, though that carrier also sells the cheaper iPhone 3GS model.

Verizon also noted that its churn level for traditional postpaid retail customers was 0.89 percent — the lowest level in three years.

“We expect Verizon Wireless to gain share in the retail postpaid market and widen its network-quality lead throughout 2011,” Seidenberg said. “We also continue to see strong customer demand for FiOS Internet and TV, and for cloud and other strategic services. At the same time, we remain focused on our cost structure, as we deliver improvements in wireline margins quarter after quarter.”

Excluding acquisitions, Verizon said it added 2.2 million wireless lines during the quarter, including 1.3 million retail postpaid customers, and 890,000 wholesale and other connections. Smartphones now make up 36 percent of traditional retail customers, up from 32 percent a quarter earlier.

On the nonwireless side, Verizon said it added 189,000 net new FiOS Internet connections and 184,000 net new FiOS TV connections during the quarter, for a total of 4.5 million FiOS Internet and 3.8 million FiOS TV connections at the end of the quarter.

The event is set to kick off shortly and Mobilized will have live coverage here.

1:05 pm: Well, despite timely warnings to get in our seats beginning at 12:45, it’s now five minutes after and the techno is still pumping.

1:11 pm: Okay. Getting started. Loud music gets louder. Cue video.

Tony Melone and Marni Walden take the stage and CEO Daniel Mead (at least I think it is Mead) is doing an intro.

1:15 pm: Another video now playing with partners. Since HTC CEO Peter Chou is in there, I think it is probably safe to say their oft-rumored LTE smartphone will make an appearance.

1:16 pm: Samsung and Ericsson execs also in the video.

1:17 pm: Verizon exec now touting the advantages of its 4G network including its spectrum, which it says will give it the best in-building coverage.

Also talking about how it is sharing its spectrum with rural service providers.

1:18 pm: Mead: “We’re very pleased to be part of bringing broadband to rural America.”

1:21 pm: Mead hands off to CTO Tony Melone to talk 4G and LTE.

Melone says that the company knows there is a lot of skepticism of the company’s move to go straight to LTE but that the bet is paying off with more networks and running faster than planned.

“The customer feedback we are getting is everything we had hoped for and then some,” Melone says.

Melone talks about 4G LTE plans.

Thirty-six months from now we will have the nation covered with LTE, Melone says. Two-thirds of the population will be covered in 2012. This year alone, he says, Verizon will add 140 new markets, including places like Little Rock, Detroit and Sioux Falls.

1:26 pm: On to devices.

Ten devices coming by mid-year being shown on stage: Four smartphones, two tablets, two notebooks and two mobile hotspots.

1:33 pm: LG CEO shows off the LG Revolution, what appears to be a slimmish smartphone.

Next up, Skype’s CEO talks about a new partnership that will allow for Skype to be always on and integrated into the address book of all of Verizon’s LTE smartphones,

1:34 pm: He’s followed by HTC CEO Peter Chou, who introduces the HTC Thunderbolt.

Chou says he’s been personally testing and using the Thunderbolt, which features the new Skype video chatting along with HTC’s Sense user interface.

“Let me tell you, it’s blazing fast,” Chou says.

Other features include a built-in 4G hotspot and a 4.3-inch Super LCD screen.

1:37 pm: He thanks Qualcomm and Google engineers that worked together to create the device, so guessing this one isn’t using Nvidia’s Tegra chip.

Next up is Electronic Arts VP Travis Boatman. EA’s mobile games lineup ranges from Monopoly and Tetris to Need for Speed and the FIFA 11 soccer game.

The new mobile version of Rock Band for Verizon’s LTE network lets people form a band and remotely jam over the network.

Samsung executive goes onstage to show off three devices for the LTE network, One is a mobile hotspot, one is a smartphone and the other is a 4G version of the Galaxy Tab.

Phone packs 4.3-inch Super Amoled Plus display, which is said to boost colors and offer improved display. It’s got an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with HD video and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video chat.

The tablet has a 1.2GHz processor developed by Samsung, while the hotspots provide connections to up to five users at a time.

Most impressive is the fact that the Samsung executive pulled all three devices out of various pockets.

Marni Walden shows off the remaining devices–a Novatel MiFi hotpot that works with both 3G and 4G networks.

There is also a Compaq Netbook, an HP notebook, as well as the previously announced Motorola Xoom and Motorola Droid Bionic.

1:47 pm: On to Q&A (hoping laptop No. 2 holds out through the end of question time.)

First question has to do with LTE speeds, which often exceed the 5- to 12-megabit speeds promised. Mead says that the company’s goal is to meet the promised speed range once the network is fully loaded, something that is not the case today.

Next question is on battery life. Melone says the company believes it will be able to meet customer expectations in that regard.

The company says it won’t announce pricing or rate plans for the 4G products, beyond noting its current prices for 4G laptop cards and service.

As for simultaneous voice and data, Walden says the company intends that at least some of its 4G launch devices will support talking and accessing data at the same time.

“It could be on some devices and not all,” Walden says.

Walden also confirms all the phones it showed Thursday are running Android.

1:55 pm: Asked about net neutrality, Mead says that what the industry needs is “unfettered development.”

“We think the free market system works very well, and we don’t need a lot of heavy intervention.”

8:29 am: FYI, Consumer Electronics Show Association head Gary Shapiro is up first, so he may talk for a bit. Verizon CEO may not start until 9:00.

8:32 am: They are still letting folks in. Mobilized suspects she could have gotten an extra 10 minutes sleep and is moderately bitter.

8:32 am: With no appreciation for irony whatsoever, they have just asked their “friends in the press” to cease using wireless in 10 minutes.

8:40 am: The giant video screens just changed to a big Verizon logo. “Our program will begin shortly,” comes the voice from above, asking participants to silence their mobile devices and us press to kindly refrain from doing the job we are expected to do–I mean turn off our wireless cards.

8:43 am: I think it’s okay for me though, because I am on 4G and I keep hearing how robust and capable it is.

8:46 am: Lights dim. Music peppier. Still no Gary Shapiro, but I think we’re moments away from the man before the man we’ve all been waiting for.

8:47 am: Shapiro delivering the expected announcements on how the world is full of innovation and possibility.

“Each year I await the CES like a kid awaiting Santa Claus,” Shapiro says.

8:48 am: Interesting pitch on how the CEA is trying to keep the show affordable for attendees and exhibitors.

Economy slowly improving after years of trouble, Shapiro says.

8:51 am: Innovation is our secret sauce. It’s on our jeans. Oh, wait. No. It’s in our genes.

8:54 am: Faint applause as Shapiro makes a pitch for freeing up more of the wireless spectrum for broadband and other uses.

He notes that only 10 percent of TV is now consumed over the public airwaves, as opposed to 100 percent some years ago.

“They are squatting now on our broadband future,” Shapiro says of the TV industry.

8:56 am: Now showing a propoganda video on how some in Washington are threatening innovation.

Images of burning money and cute little kids as the announcer offers up more scary talk.

8:59 am: It’s a pitch for the CEA’s Innovation Movement.

Shapiro now back and pitching his new book: “The Comeback.” He’ll be signing books after the keynote. Um, Mobilized would, but we have to do our hair.

9:01 am: Interesting stat: By 2014, CEA says 70 percent of consumer electronics will connect to the Internet.

9:04 am: CEA is planning some sort of tech week event next summer in New York.

9:04 am: Las Vegas Convention Center will now also be known as the Las Vegas World Trade Center. (I guess that sounds better than the O.J. Simpson Coliseum.)

9:07 am: Shapiro finally introducing Verizon’s Seidenberg.

Seidenberg began his career as cable splitter’s assistant at New York Telephone.

9:08 am: Another video, this one with stars, and voiceovers of people talking about technology.

9:10 am: Seidenberg takes the stage.

9:11 am: Seidenberg begins by telling crowd to ignore ban on wireless.

“When Verizon’s on, turn ‘em on,” he says. “Ping all you want.” Loud applause

9:13 am: Ten years ago only one in three Americans had a cellphone. Now it is 90 percent, Seidenberg says.

Ten years ago, few people had broadband–now 85 million American households have broadband.

Ten years ago, video accounted for less than 10 percent of Internet traffic. Now it’s more than half and could go to 90 percent, Seidenberg says.

Now it’s time to turn the wheel again, he says. “What will consumers want in 10 years?”

9:15 am: Seidenberg is joined on the stage by president and COO Lowell McAdam.

9:16 am: Talk shifts to Verizon’s new LTE (Long Term Evolution) higher-speed 4G network. Verizon announced its commitment to LTE in 2007. Network launched last month.

“As people are discovering, not all 4G is created equally,” McAdam says, touting the advantages of Verizon’s network, such as the fact it operates on a contiguous area of spectrum.

McAdam talks about how Verizon is expanding its LTE lineup beyond laptop cards. He mentions the Motorola Droid Bionic smartphone and Xoom tablet that were announced on Wednesday. But, he says, people will have to go to Verizon Wireless’s press conference to see the other devices coming this year,

Now McAdam is talking about FiOS, which covers 15.4 million homes and will cover 18 million when finished over the next year.

“We didn’t do all this for bragging rights,” McAdam says. “We did it to transform the (broadband) experience.”

9:25 am: Oooh, Time for special guests.

Jeff Bewkes, Time Warner CEO is the first guest.

9:26 am: Bewkes says this is the second golden era of television. “Everything is up,” he says, pointing to ratings, advertising and more.

All of the great TV content, he says, is going on demand, on every device. Quality is going up from HD to 3-D.

9:31 am: Getting ready for the product announcement.

Starts with a video of Conan and other Time Warner stars watching clips of themselves and others on various devices. Charles Barkley is looking at hoops video on an iPad.

Ellen DeGeneres is watching clips of herself on a cellphone while ignoring a guest.

9:34 am: Bewkes talking about TV Everywhere.

Idea, introduced about 18 months ago, is that once you pay for a piece of content, you should have it anywhere, on any device.

“You shouldn’t have to have a PhD as a consumer to figure out how to get all this,” Bewkes says.

9:38 am: Bewkes says that to replicate TV everywhere without that approach you would have to cobble together dozens of services. He shows a chart with logos including Netflix, iTunes, ESPN 3 and a whole bunch more.

9:40 am: Exit Bewkes. Welcome Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha. (So I guess we’re not getting anything new really on TV everywhere–Support for Live TV is a key missing component.)

9:42 am: Jha is talking about the origins of the original Droid and its successors, and the growth of Android.

Jha holds up the just-introduced Droid Bionic phone, which supports Verizon.

I call this device the end of waiting,” Jha says, noting it can offer video conferencing without jitters, and fast sound downloads.

9:44 am: Next Jha holds up the Motorola Xoom, the tablet that Motorola showed off yesterday. They are playing the same Android 3.0 video shown at Motorola’s press conference yesterday.

9:47 am: Jha says that Xoom will ship as a 3G device in February and will be upgradeable to 4G in the second quarter.

Now Google is onstage giving an overview of Honeycomb. Google executive (whose name I didn’t catch) says that the company spent a year trying to adapt Android for tablets.

“We wanted our tablet experience to be better and not just bigger,” says the Google guy,

All the controls in Honeycomb are virtual buttons on screen–pixels rather than paint, he quips.

The benefit is such buttons can reconfigure themselves and shift depending on how the tablet is being held.

9:51 am: Now Google demos tabbed browsing in Honeycomb. “It’s really like a desktop experience,” he says.

Gmail has been redesigned for tablets, resembling the iOS version of Yahoo mail, with various panes.

Maps turn to 3-D once you zoom in close enough and can be rotated and the perspective changed with the swipe of a finger.

Notifications now include a photo of the person. Demo guy gets a message from Andy Rubin reminding him to show the improved task manager feature.

9:56 am: Honeycomb version of YouTube shows a 3-D wall of different videos to watch.

Books presented in a similar 3-D carousel.

9:57 am: Video chat part of Google Chat. Sometimes you want face-to-face communication, Google guy says. Now Honeycomb supports that.

10:03 am: Things are starting to wrap up, with McAdam giving an overview of what Verizon has at its booth, including a Cisco enterprise tablet, health care monitoring tools, as well as its crop of phones and laptop cards.

Except, says Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, that’s not what his 19.6 million customers are doing.

Responding to a question during yesterday’s earnings call, Hastings told analysts he doesn’t see any evidence that his customers are choosing Netflix instead of cable. They’re using it to augment their cable subscription, he said: “We still see no evidence that our subscribers cut cords at a greater rate than the population.”

That contradicts both popular wisdom, as well as at least one recent survey, which found Netflix subscribers using the service as a cable substitute. Then again, a competing study from BTIG’s Rich Greenfield (registration required) found that hypothetical cord cutters are only slightly more likely–by a margin of 51 percent to 49 percent–to have Netflix.

And the existence of cable-cutting itself is still very much up for debate in the TV business. Cable companies like Comcast insist that they don’t see evidence of it. But Ivan Seidenberg, who runs cable competitor Verizon, says it’s inevitable.

Netflix, meanwhile, has been consistent in arguing that it’s not helping anyone do any snipping. Here’s Hastings answering a similar question during an earnings call three months ago (PDF):

Q: Do you see any evidence that Netflix subscribers are inclined to either cancel multi-channel video subscriptions, or to pare back use of premium services such as Starz, Encore, HBO?

A: No, we haven’t seen any evidence of that and there’s no evidence in the total numbers of those firms in last quarter’s financials and total subscribers, so total multi-channel video subscribers is continuing to grow in the US. Premium subscribers is not showing any decline, so I don’t think there’s any material cord cutting. I think what’s happening is the multi-channel video, such a broad package with an incredible array of products, that we’re a tiny little fraction of that, and our subscribers view us as a supplemental service, and because it’s a modest cost at $9 a month, it works for them and their budget.

The numbers bear Hastings out: In the past year, his service has added 5.8 million subscribers. If, say, 20 percent of those new customers were cord cutters, you would have seen cable rolls drop by more than one million people. But so far we’ve only seen a 200,000-person drop, in the second quarter of 2010. And some analysts think that number will turn positive for the rest of the year.

But that doesn’t mean Hastings doesn’t plan to cut directly into the cable business in the future, when Netflix has a truly comprehensive streaming video catalog. Which means it’s worth asking Hastings about cord-cutting every quarter.

One of these days you might get a different answer.

“We would love to carry [the iPhone], but we have to earn it. I can’t speak for Apple.”

– Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg

So that “Verizon-ready” CDMA iPhone that Apple will begin mass-producing by the end of the year? Verizon will actually be selling it. This according to an updated version of the same Wall Street Journal story I pointed to Wednesday that says, explicitly, what the first version did not: “Apple Inc. is making a version of its iPhone that Verizon Wireless will sell early next year.”

Evidently, Verizon (VZ) has, in the words of CEO Ivan Seidenberg, earned the right to carry it. Or at least that’s what the Journal’s being told.

Asked for his thoughts on the report at the CTIA conference in San Francisco yesterday Lowell McAdam, Verizon’s president and chief operating officer, declined to confirm a deal with Apple.

“This is one of those things that rolls out every few weeks whether there’s a basis for it or not,” he said. “I can’t give you any insights. But I think Apple is the one that has to make that announcement. What I’ve always said is I expect at some point in time our business interests are going to align. I think things like LTE are another great reason why they’d want a device or tablet on that network. But I don’t have anything to say today about timing.”

Whatever. As I’ve said before, at this point I’d be happy to see the iPhone added to Verizon’s lineup, if only to stop this endless conga line of rumors.

An interesting bit of news, particularly given recent remarks from Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg that seemed to suggest the iPhone wasn’t headed to the carrier’s network in the near future. “We would love to carry [the iPhone], but we have to earn it,” he said earlier this month. “I can’t speak for Apple.”

Misdirection. Honesty? Perhaps the next Verizon iPhone rumor (sigh) will shed a bit more light….

UPDATE: The Journal has updated its story to say, explicitly, that Verizon will sell the iPhone. Evidently, the company’s won the right to carry it.

Another Verizon (VZ) iPhone rumor to add to the pile, with a few caveats: Market source reports from Taiwanese trade publications like DigiTimes are sometimes dubious. Remarks by Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg this week suggest that the iPhone isn’t headed to the carrier’s network in the near future–certainly not as soon as this DigiTimes report suggests. “We would love to carry [the iPhone], but we have to earn it,” he said. “I can’t speak for Apple.”

That comment was widely interpreted to mean that Verizon hasn’t yet earned the right to carry the device. Which might be the case–unless this was simply a bit of misdirection from Seidenberg. In any event, the fact that Pegatron is said to be ramping up to build a CDMA iPhone doesn’t necessarily mean the device is destined for Verizon. As I’ve noted here before, it could be intended for Sprint (S)–or a foreign carrier like China Telecom, KDDI (Japan) or Telefonica (Mexico).

“We don’t feel like we have an iPhone deficit. We would love to carry it, but we have to earn it. I can’t speak for Apple.”

– Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg on speculation that the carrier will soon add Apple’s iPhone to its handset lineup

He told the crowd at Goldman’s media conference this morning that the cable bundle is going to go the way of the wireline telephone business. That is, the next generation of consumers won’t have any interest in paying for it.

“Young people are pretty smart. They’re not going to pay for something they don’t need to,” he said. “Over the top is going to be a pretty big issue for cable.”

But that’s an issue for Verizon (VZ), too, right? Seidenberg’s company sells its own version of the cable bundle, via its Fios service, and it has 3.5 million customers. And Seidenberg noted that the TV bundle isn’t going away immediately. But it will, he said.

“We take the over the top issue with video very seriously,” he said. “I think cable has some life left in its model…but that it is going to get disintermediated over the next several years.”

Seidenberg’s argument is that over the top is a much bigger deal for cable guys like Comcast (CMCSA), who have an entire business built around the bundle, than it will be for his company, which is a relative newcomer to video. Theoretically, he’ll be be able to replace some video subscribers with subs who pay for robust broadband connections. But like it or not, it’s going to happen, he says.

“I’ve seen the movie. If you remain static too long, the technology is going to nibble at you on the edges, and you have to be prepared for it.”

Meanwhile, on the eternal iPhone question: Seidenberg repeated his standard line, which is that he’d very much like to offer Apple’s (AAPL) handset, and hopes to do so one day.

Existing versions of the iPhone won’t work on Verizon’s CDMA network, but he’s hopeful that the launch of its new 4G LTE network this fall will lead Apple to produce a compatible handset. Which it may very well be doing, anyway.

Meantime, he has a business to run, and he’s been activating a lot of Google’s (GOOG) Droids. Warning! Sports metaphor ahead: “This is like the Knicks getting Carmelo Anthony. Like it would be very good if the Knicks got Carmelo Anthony. But they have to play the game whether they get Carmelo Anthony, right?”

McAdam appeared on-stage at our D6 conference in 2008 with then FCC chairman Kevin Martin. Below, video of that interview.

Click here to watch the second half of the interview.

That didn’t go well, at least by blogosphere standards. The hive mind quickly concluded that search giant Google (GOOG) and telco giant Verizon (VZ) were trying to fool Americans by proposing a deal where the old Web stayed “open,” while giving them the go-ahead to lock down a new “private” Web, as well as the wireless Web.

In addition, Google itself got a big heaping of scorn for seemingly flip-flopping on previous assurances about its plans for the mobile Web.

Not so! says Google. And it has published yet another policy statement to try to make its case. Best to read the thing in its entirety here. But on the most contentious points:

Google can’t argue that it hasn’t changed its stance on wireless. Because it has.

From Google’s post: “It’s true that Google previously has advocated for certain openness safeguards to be applied in a similar fashion to what would be applied to wireline services. However, in the spirit of compromise, we have agreed to a proposal that allows this market to remain free from regulation for now, while Congress keeps a watchful eye.”

Telco lobbyist Richard Whitt goes on to explain his company’s reasoning, which boils down to: Wireless is different from wired.

Google will have a hard time explaining the nuance of its stance on the “private” Web.

On Monday, Google and Verizon struggled to explain why broadband providers should be able to build out a second tier of Internet-like services that aren’t on the Internet and aren’t subject to “open” requirements. Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg, pressed for examples, suggested that the new private Web would be great for 3-D video. But it’s hard to argue that bandwidth-intensive uses shouldn’t be subject to the same regulations as the rest of the Web. Getting this one through could be a real challenge.

[Image credit: don.wing45]

The Google and Verizon plan that the New York Times reported on last week is out. And, as Google and Verizon have said, it’s not what the New York Times had reported: A pay-to-play arrangement where Google gets the ability to speed its stuff across the Web by paying a premium.

Instead, it’s a three-tiered policy proposal–and absolutely not a “business arrangement,” the two sides insist–that will both mollify “network neutrality” advocates and worry them.

You can read the full thing here, and see Google and Verizon’s explanation of the policy/plan below. The fast version:

• The Web stays open, everyone gets treated equally–everyone with “legal content,” that is–and Google won’t be paying to move its stuff faster than the competition. It’s what everyone who says they care about network neutrality demands.
• But! Verizon and/or others telcos/cable guys/ISPs want the right to build and/or use “new services.” And those could have different rules.
• And! The open Web policies described above are for “wireline” services–i.e., pipes and cables into your home or office. But wireless broadband is a different animal. And it would have different rules, too.

The second and third points, of course, are where things will get sticky. The Google/Verizon statement is intentionally vague about what these new services would be and who would build them and what would be on them. But in the conference call to explain the statement, reporters immediately began referring to the “new services” as a “private Internet,” and I bet that name will stick.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt, for his part, insists that his company wants no part of the “private Internet” or whatever it is that may or not be built. Google “likes the public Internet,” he said, and later upgraded his affection to “love.” And asked repeatedly whether Google would use any of the new services, he repeatedly said no.

Which makes it appear as if Google has made the following trade: Give us unfettered access to whatever we want on the public Web, and we won’t squawk about secondary services you build on your “private Internet.” Which we’re not calling the “private Internet” and we’re not going to use anyway. And when it comes to mobile, well, that’s a different discussion.

There was very little discussion in the press Q&A about wireless, which is odd, given the amount of time my colleagues (and our readers) spend obsessing about the iPhone and Android and the BlackBerry, etc., etc. But surely we’ll hear more soon enough.

Meantime, what about the thing-that-doesn’t-exist-and-is-not-a-private-Internet? What are you supposed to do with it anyway? Especially, since, according to Schmidt, you won’t be using it for Google search or to watch YouTube clips?

The policy statement offers some suggestions: “Health care monitoring, the smart grid, advanced educational services, or new entertainment and gaming options.” Okay, but aren’t all of those things best used on the Web–the “open Web,” that is–anyway?

And here Seidenberg is quite vague. On two separate occasions, he suggested that the “private Internet” might be a good place to stream 3-D video. But surely he’s thinking about uses beyond “Pirhana 3D.”

But for better or worse, all of this is going to get thoroughly vetted in Washington, so I’m sure we’ll hear more about in the future. For now, enjoy your open Internet!

Earlier:

Google and Verizon are about to conduct a joint press conference, presumably to explain what the two companies are and aren’t doing with regard to network neutrality.

Last week, the New York Times reported that the two companies were working to push forward legislation that would allow Internet service providers to prioritize certain traffic on their wireless networks. Verizon and Google, in unusually loud proclamations, said the Times got the story wrong; the Times said it was sticking by its story.

Verizon and Google both plan to publish statements on their public policy blogs at 1:25 pm Eastern, and the call with Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg is scheduled for 1:30. I’ll cover it live here:

Live Blog

1:28 pm: Waiting on the promised policy blog posts. Nothing yet. *Unless Google and Verizon are conspiring to keep my computer from getting the information!*

Verizon blog now sputtering, gurgling. Perhaps something’s about to emerge…

Well, if you’re bored, here’s a Tom Petty video.

1:36 pm: No blog statements, but call is starting anyway.

Here’s Schmidt, introducing Seidenberg and their respective public policy chiefs.

Over past years, to Schmidt’s surprise, VZ and GOOG have found “more and more” that they agree w/r/t public policy.

Google needs investment and infrastructure that VZ and telcos provide; he hopes they need Google and others software..

So public policy statement coming.

But first more about Google: Open internet very important to us. Google has has enough money to get whatever it needs on the Web, but next generation of companies will need access to open Internet.

Schmidt: Lots of chatter and reporting about this since last Thursday, “Almost all of which has been completely wrong”, even though we love “sophsticated critcism.” So please read what we have to say before you talk or type.

Here’s the link. Schmidt summarizing but I’m linking. So you’ll have to read for yourself…

Seidenberg finishing up list of talking/policy points that Schmidt started. But trying to paraphrase what he’s saying nearly impossible, since it is laden with legalese and is oblique (intentionally so, I assume). So going to hang tight for a minute.

Seidenberg. “Why now, why Google”? “This debate has been somewhat hijacked by a lot of discussion and issues that are not really reflective of what the company is doing”…
So….”we agree with Google” that proposal is to “follow a consumer-driven orientation”. Ugh. Such non-language.

Q&A

Q on principle six. What does that mean? Would it mean that Google, using Android phone, on a non-public Internet, could buy up capacity to offer YouTube on Fios at a better price or speed?

Seidenberg: I think the answer is “no”. But let’s explain this. “There’s no paid priortization that would come from Google over the Internet, period.” BUT. If google or someone wants to bundle a new service with new features and that was transparent to everybody, that would be permitted.

Schmidt: Right!

Q: But you could have YouTube channel on Fios, right?

Seidenberg: Sure.

Schmidt: We wouldn’t do that. “Google likes the public internet”

Q: Richard Waters from the FT seems to be underwater.

But Seidenberg thinks he can hear him. We couldn’t degrade capacity of public internet in order to build up private capacity. We’ll start out by serving public internt. But if we have additional capacity we’ll build out both.

Q: What’s your incentive for building out public internet.

Seidenberg: “So many ways” to monetize growth.

Schmidt: Verzion and others have incentive to make pubic internet more useful, “simply because it’s what their customers want”. And there’s enough excess supply to build both. And we’ll make sure that they follow up on these promises.

Q: And to be clear – Google, including YouTube, will always be on public internet?

Schmidt: Yes.

Q: Someone from Reuters, speaking very quietly.

Schmidt: “There is no business arrangement.” btw us and Verizon. Want to be very clear that those reports (in the Times) were “false, misleading and incorrect”.

Seidenberg: “There is no business arrangement”

Q: Talks with FCC?

Both Schmidt and Seidenberg. Yeah, we’ve talked to them.

Seidenberg: We’re doing this call now to clear up erroneous reports.

Missed a question. Apologies.

Q: Please talk more about the alternative non-public internet thing you’re talking about is. What is it? And why not run it w/same rules as public internet. And Eric, are you really sure you won’t use this thing?

Schmidt: Nope. We won’t’. “We love the public internet”

Seidenberg: We’re not saying there’s an alternative internet or that we’ll build it. But if someday someone builds it, we’d like to be able to use it.

Q: OK, so what would an entertainment service on this non-public Internet be like?

Seidenberg. I’ll give you an answer “and then you’ll trivialize it”. But! Let’s say the Metropolitan Opera wants to do 3-d broadcast. Maybe they don’t want to use the public internet for that.

Q: I know there’s not a business arrangement. But why do it behind closed door?

Schmidt “This is not a deal. This is a joint policy announcement”. It’s in everbody’s interest to follow the policy, and that’s what we’ll do.

Seidenberg: “Ditto!”. And of course, we’ve talked to others as well. Carriers, folks in government, etc.

Q: All of these services (like video) are moving into IP networks, which is the Internet. So what wouldn’t be in included in the public internet here?

Seidenberg: Do you think 3-d should go over the internet? Then recites talking points from memo again. “It’s not that difficult” to understand.

Schmidt thanks everyone for getting on call (No problem!). And thanks for Verizon management for their help on this, because it’s a really big deal for everyone in the United States.

Call ends.

[Image credit: James Thompson]

Well, it looks like Apple may have decided that such a partnership does make sense, because industry sources are telling the occasionally reliable DigiTimes that Pegatron Technology is manufacturing a CDMA version of the iPhone 4 suitable for the Verizon network (CDMA is short for code division multiple access).

Another Verizon iPhone rumor, I know. But in this case, it is lent credence by a March Wall Street Journal report that claimed essentially the same thing.

Still, that Apple (AAPL) has contracted Pegatron to build a CDMA iPhone does not necessarily mean the device is destined for Verizon (VZ). There are other carriers that use the CDMA standard: Sprint (S), China Telecom and SK Telecom (SKM), to name a few.

That said, Verizon is certainly an attractive candidate, as the carrier would immediately give Apple access to about 80 million new customers. And the concessions Apple has recently squeezed out of AT&T (T)–a “breakthrough” wireless deal for the iPad and a six-month extension on eligibility for iPhone 4 upgrade pricing–do suggest that the carrier is doing all it can to prolong its iPhone-exclusivity agreement and lock as many customers into new contracts as it can before it ends.

Anyway, at this point I’d be happy to see the iPhone added to Verizon’s lineup, if only to put an end to these seemingly endless rumors.

The agency took a rare shot at Verizon Communications (VZ) CEO Ivan Seidenberg on Thursday, calling him out by name for comments earlier this week that cast doubt on whether carriers need as much spectrum as the government wants to give them.

In its National Broadband Plan, released last month, the FCC said it planned to free up a sizable 500 MHz of spectrum by 2020 for wireless carriers like AT&T (T) and Verizon Wireless, which Verizon jointly owns with Vodafone Group. Much of that will come from TV broadcasters, and the move was widely seen as a coup for carriers who have been calling for more airwaves to meet growing data traffic from customers surfing the Web, watching videos and using applications on their phones.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

“Eventually it’s our view we’ll get to carrying Apple.”

– Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg on rumors that the iPhone is headed to its network

Looks like Apple (AAPL) may have decided to add Verizon (VZ) as an iPhone carrier, because The Wall Street Journal reports that the company is working on two new iPhones, a fourth-generation model and another designed for a CDMA network like Verizon’s.

Sources tell The Journal that Pegatron Technology, Apple’s manufacturing partner for the CDMA device, is scheduled to begin mass-producing the new iPhone in September, though it is not yet clear when or on whose network the company intends to launch it. The publication says the new model “appears” to be designed for Verizon Wireless. But other carriers use the CDMA standard–Sprint (S), China Telecom and SK Telecom, to name a few.

That said, Verizon certainly seems a likely candidate, as the carrier would immediately give Apple access to about 80 million new customers. But rumors of an Apple-Verizon deal for the iPhone and the iPad have been circulating for quite some time and none have ever panned out. Which is not to say they won’t pan out this time, just that The Journal has not yet been able to confirm that they will.

A Verizon iPhone would, of course, be bad news for AT&T (T). As I’ve noted here before, a move to nonexclusivity in the U.S. would likely have some negative impact on the carrier’s subscriber base.

[This post was clarified and updated with new details at 2:45 pm PDT]

Alas, the Foursquare conference, hosted by the Quadrangle PE fund, is an invitation-only affair. And the event, which kicks off tomorrow, is closed to the press except for reporters onstage to interview the stars. And those conversations don’t get released to the public.

That’s a particular bummer this time. Because the Quadrangle guys–who have had a rough year–had the foresight to get a lineup that includes GE (GE) CEO Jeff Immelt, who appears to be in the final stages of selling NBC Universal to Comcast (CMCSA) CEO Brian Roberts, who will also be onstage. Sure would be nice to hear what they say.

Another panel that piques my interest, if only because of the title: “Are Popularity and Profitability Correlated?” It features Twitter’s Stone, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman and YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley. And would-be moguls are represented by a start-up pitch panel that includes Dennis Crowley of Foursquare, the superbuzzy mobile service whose name has nothing to do with Quadrangle’s conference.

So once again, here’s the complete list of those you won’t be hearing from this week as they gather at the Plaza in Manhattan. Unless, perhaps, one of my more ambitious colleagues sneaks in–I’m thinking of you, Bobby MacMillan–and gets us a first-hand account.

2009 SPEAKERS
EMILIO AZCÁRRAGA President, Board of Directors and CEO, Grupo Televisa
DENNIS CROWLEY Co-Founder, foursquare
BARRY DILLER Chairman and CEO, IAC; Chairman, Expedia, Inc. and Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc.
BRIAN DUNN CEO, Best Buy
CHARLES FORMAN Founder, OMGPOP
REED HASTINGS Founder, Chairman and CEO, Netflix
REID HOFFMAN Executive Chairman and Founder, LinkedIn Corporation
CHAD HURLEY CEO and Co-Founder, YouTube
JEFF IMMELT Chairman and CEO, GE
PAUL JACOBS Chairman and CEO, Qualcomm Incorporated
OLLI-PEKKA KALLASVUO President and CEO, Nokia
JASON KILAR CEO, Hulu
LESLIE MOONVES President and CEO, CBS Corporation
ANNE MULCAHY Chairman, Xerox Corporation
JAMES MURDOCH Chairman and Chief Executive, Europe & Asia, News Corporation
BRIAN PHILLIPS CEO and Co-Founder, Thread
DAN PORTER CEO, OMGPOP
BRIAN ROBERTS Chairman and CEO, Comcast Corporation
PAUL SAGAN President and CEO, Akamai
ERIC SCHMIDT Chairman and CEO, Google
IVAN SEIDENBERG Chairman and CEO, Verizon Communications
BIZ STONE Co-Founder, Twitter
HOWARD STRINGER Chairman, CEO and President, Sony Corporation
BEN VERWAAYEN CEO, Alcatel-Lucent
DAVID ZASLAV President and CEO, Discovery Communications

MODERATORS
MARC ANDREESSEN General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz
KEN AULETTA Author and Writer, “Annals of Communications”, The New Yorker
MARIA BARTIROMO Anchor, Closing Bell; Host & Managing Editor, Wall Street Journal Report, CNBC
JAMES CITRIN Co-Leader, Board & CEO Practice, North America, Spencer Stuart
DAVID FABER Anchor, Reporter, CNBC
MICHAEL HUBER Co-President and Managing Principal, Quadrangle Group
BECKY QUICK Co-Anchor, Squawk Box, CNBC
GEOFFREY SANDS Director & Leader, Global Media, Entertainment & Information Practice, McKinsey & Co.
JOSHUA L. STEINER Co-President and Managing Principal, Quadrangle Group
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS Anchor, This Week; Chief Washington Correspondent, ABC News

“This is a decision that is exclusively in Apple’s court,” said Seidenberg. “Obviously we would be interested if they thought it would make sense for them to have us as a partner. And so we will leave it with them on that score….We want to broaden the base of choice for customers, and hopefully along the way, Apple, as well as others, will decide to jump on the bandwagon.”