Verizon Wireless said it will release smart phones to small wireless carriers sooner after lawmakers said keeping the devices from rivals may harm competition.
The new deals with handset makers will last no longer than six months, down from one to two years for most contracts.
The pledge by the company, owned by Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group, came in a letter yesterday to the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet.
Verizon, the largest US mobile phone carrier, said in its letter that the handsets would be available to companies with 500,000 or fewer customers — a condition that excludes rivals AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile.