Verizon Chimes in on 2013 Nexus 7 LTE Debacle; Claims Still Waiting on Certification

[dgstorm]

In case you missed it, the LTE version of the new 2013 Nexus 7 Android tablet can be activated on both AT&T and T-Mobile; however, Verizon is currently in violation of FCC openness regulations because you cannot activate it on their network. There has been a big stink over the issue, but Verizon has come forward to try and alleviate some of the stench. They recently claimed the issue isn't that they don't plan to offer the device. VZW said the reason it isn't possible to use the device on their network, despite having a radio which would facilitate it, is because of their own stringent certification testing procedures. Here's a full quote directly from Verizon on the subject,

The Google Nexus 7 is not yet a Verizon 4G LTE certified device, though it entered our process in August and we expect it will be certified shortly. Once the device is certified, we will work with Google to enable the device to be activated on our 4G LTE network.

Verizon Wireless’ certification process, which generally takes between four and six weeks, is one of the most rigorous testing protocols of any carrier, and is focused on guarding the safety and security of our network. Certification is done by third party labs approved by Verizon, and selected by the device manufacturer. Over the years, Verizon Wireless has certified hundreds of devices; information on the certification process is available to anyone at opennetwork.verizonwireless.com.

Verizon is committed to ensuring our customers have the best overall experience when any device becomes available on the nation's most reliable network.

So to sum it up, it's simply taking a really long time to work on their network because they have ridiculous testing hoops to jump through before they will certify a device on their network. That's "par for the course" with Verizon, so we have no real reason to be surprised.

Source: VZW