There has been a lot of noise on the Internet today about Verizon blocking Google Wallet that has gotten many individuals a bit perturbed. In a statement issued to Neowin by Verizon, Jeffrey Nelson makes it clear that Verizon does not block applications.
The statement is posted below and came from Jeffrey Nelson, a Verizon spokesperson:
Recent reports that Verizon is blocking Google Wallet on our devices are false. Verizon does not block applications.
Google Wallet is different from other widely-available m-commerce services. Google Wallet does not simply access the operating system and basic hardware of our phones like thousands of other applications. Instead, in order to work as architected by Google, Google Wallet needs to be integrated into a new, secure and proprietary hardware element in our phones.
We are continuing our commercial discussions with Google on this issue.
The statement is a bit ambiguous as it states that they are not blocking the features but at the same time states that it is not implemented. It appears that the feature is not blocked, but at this time, Verizon is not able to support it up front because of the additional technical requirements of Google Wallet. As such, they are working with Google to overcome this issue and it would appear that the feature will hopefully arrive on the device in the near future.
We have asked Verizon to confirm our interpretation of the statement that the feature is in fact available, but not turned on at the moment until technical hurdles can be overcome.