US telecom titan Verizon is shunning Google’s nascent smartphone wallet, saying the technology reaches tooย deep into handsets for comfort.
Verizon asked the Internet giant not to include the payment feature on new Android-powered Samsung Galaxyย Nexus smartphones tailored for the carrier’s network, Google said in response to an AFP inquiry.
Verizon spokesman Jeffrey Nelson said that the carrier was not blocking Google Wallet from Galaxy Nexusย
smartphones but was “continuing our commercial discussions with Google” regarding including the technology inย handsets.
Verizon maintained that its reservations stem from the fact that Wallet requires access to secure chips deep inย smartphones.
“Google Wallet does not simply access the operating system and basic hardware of our phones like thousands ofย other applications,” Nelson said.
“Instead, in order to work as architected by Google, Google Wallet needs to be integrated into a new, secure andย proprietary hardware element in our phones,” he added.
Some industry insiders suspect that Verizon shunned Google Wallet because it is working with other US telecomย firms on a competing smartphone NFC payment system called Isis.
A pair of US consumer advocacy groups weighed in on Wednesday, saying Verizon was using its hold on mobileย service subscribers to keep them from reaching for Google Wallet.
“Verizon shows no hesitation in using its gatekeeper position over its subscribers to restrict or block applicationsย that compete with its own offerings,” Free Press policy director Matt Wood said in a statement.
“Verizon should stop pressuring third parties, including its own business partners, into removing competingย
applications from consumers’ hands,” Wood said.
Free Press and consumer group Public Knowledge cited Verizon’s move as evidence that stricter “net neutrality”ย regulation is needed to keep the Internet landscape free and fair.
Google in September opened Wallet to the public, clearing the way for customers to pay at participating shopsย using Google Nexus S 4G smartphones on the Sprint telecom network and promising more Android handsets toย come.