Is ‘open’ the new black for telecom?

For an industry that has run scared from the idea of the “dumb pipe,” telecom seems to be coming around to the notion that running networks open to other content and service providers might not only have great merit but be a means to survival.

Speaking in an interview last week, Jeannie Diefenderfer, vice president of global network operations for Verizon Business (NYSE: VZ), talked about “coopetition” – or cooperation among competitors – as a key attribute for successful telecom operations.

“I believe in today’s world, and more so going forward, the ones who learn to master the art of coopetition are going to be the winners,” Diefenderfer said. “There are few out there that try to be all things to all people. I don’t think that is a long-term model, particularly because of speed. Any smart people can learn anything over time – it’s a matter of, ‘Are you going to miss a window of opportunity while you do that?’”

Verizon is being driven to work with systems integrators and technology companies “to make sure whatever the complete solution set is, that we bring that to our customers,” Diefenderfer said. That has led Verizon to have continuous conversations with a variety of companies with which it also competes on other planes, including systems integrators like IBM and Accenture, technology giants like Apple, Cisco and Microsoft, and Web companies like Google and Yahoo!, Diefenderfer said.

“We are always open to, and we do have, conversations with these folks on a strategic basis,” Diefenderfer said.

On the consumer side, the industry’s push to get to “an infinite catalog” of content that is deliverable over any network to any device at any time is also forging new business relationships, said Rob Malnati, director of business development for broadband home gateways and software at Motorola (NYSE: MOT). Content providers are more open to the idea that their licensed video content should be distributed over mobile and broadband networks and be accessible on demand.