Verizon Wireless
From Free net encyclopedia
Verizon Wireless, headquartered in Bedminster, New Jersey (USA) owns and operates the second-largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States. As of January 2006, the company served a total of 51.3 million customers but has the largest service by area. The company is a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group, with 55 and 45 percent ownership respectively.
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Background
Image:Banm.gif Verizon Wireless traces its roots to Bell Atlantic Mobile, NYNEX Mobile Communications, AirTouch Communications, PrimeCo Communications, and GTE Mobilnet. Bell Atlantic Mobile and NYNEX Mobile Communications merged in 1995 to create Bell Atlantic-NYNEX Mobile, and in 1997 their namesake Baby Bell parents followed suit to form the new Bell Atlantic and their wireless subsidiary was renamed Bell Atlantic Mobile . Meanwhile, in June 1999, AirTouch Communications of San Francisco, California merged with U.K.-based Vodafone Group Plc, forming Vodafone AirTouch Plc. In September 1999, Vodafone AirTouch announced a $90-billion joint venture with Bell Atlantic Corp. to be called Verizon Wireless, and which would be comprised of the two companies' U.S. wireless assets: Bell Atlantic Mobile, AirTouch Cellular, PrimeCo Communications, and AirTouch Paging. This wireless joint venture received regulatory approval in six months, and began operations as Verizon Wireless on April 4, 2000. On June 30, 2000, the addition of GTE Wireless' assets, in connection with the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE to form Verizon Communications, made Verizon Wireless the nation's largest wireless communications provider (until Cingular's acquisition of AT&T Wireless in 2004). For the joint venture, Verizon Communications owns 55% and UK-based Vodafone Group (formerly Vodafone AirTouch) owns 45%1.
The faux word "Verizon" is derived by combining the word "veritas," a Latin term that means "truth," and the word "horizon." Together, they are supposed to conjure images of reliability, certainty, leadership, and limitless possibilities. [1]
Verizon is one of two U.S. national carriers to use CDMA technology, the other being Sprint Nextel's Sprint PCS division. (ALLTEL, a regional carrier, also uses CDMA, as do U.S. Cellular, Cricket, and Metro PCS.) Aside from the 3 generations of CDMA (IS-95, 1x, and EV-DO), Verizon Wireless also uses an overlayed AMPS network.
Verizon Wireless claims it invests more than $4 billion annually to "maintain and expand" its nationwide CDMA network and support its analog network. Verizon Wireless offers voice services as well as 3G data services such as wireless broadband based on EV-DO, text and picture messaging, over-the-air downloadable applications and content from its "Get It Now®" service, Video on Demand in the form of V CAST (which allows customers to download and view video content), Location-Based Services, and Push-to-Talk.
Marketing
Verizon advertised the fact that they were, for a time, the largest cellular network in the country by showing people using cell phones and then gesturing with two fingers, much like the World War II-era "V for Victory" sign, to show that the person was on the Verizon ("V") network.
Later, Verizon adopted the slogan "We never stop working for you," with commercials depicting a Verizon employee roaming about in strange places continuously asking, "Can you hear me now? Good." (The "employee" is actually stage actor Paul Marcarelli. [2]) The "test man" represents the technicians who conduct more than 300,000 call attempts monthly on Verizon Wireless' and other national wireless carriers' networks while traveling over 100,000 miles of the most frequently traveled roadways nationwide in specially equipped, company-owned test vehicles.
Competitive Challenges
Template:POV-section Verizon Wireless' GSM competitors—Cingular Wireless and T-Mobile USA—have a number of advantages for consumers. GSM is more widely available worldwide than CDMA. Verizon was first to the market with their 3G service, but the company was late to introduce free Verizon-to-Verizon "IN" calling and text messaging. They have stayed competitive as far as rate plans, formerly being a "premium"-priced wireless service provider. Verizon also claims to be the "Nation's Most Reliable Network." In contrast, CDMA can handle more calls per user than GSM. This can be noticed at events such as graduations or concerts where there are many users in a small area.
There is room for companies like Sprint and T-Mobile to create niche markets for both the basic consumer and business oriented customers.
Verizon's "Get It Now" has varying services depending on the customer's phone, and is less consistent than the other vendors' offerings, even for things like e-mail clients. Verizon's massive marketing muscle may outweigh its technological shortcomings, however.
Awards
- Highest Customer Service Quality Rating - RCR Wireless News, January 21, 2004
- Best Wireless Product - Wireless Systems Design, February 11, 2004
- Carrier of the Year Excellence Award - Wireless Week, March 22, 2004
- Best Overall Carrier - Laptop Magazine, May 2004
- Best Place to Work in IT - ComputerWorld, June 14, 2004.
- 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers - Working Mother, October 2004
- Reader's Choice - PC Magazine, November 29, 2004
- Corporation of the Year - The U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce
Content Delivery Systems
Get It Now
Overview
Get It Now is Verizon Wireless' implementation of Qualcomm's BREW technology. It allows you to download and use applications on a Verizon Wireless Get It Now-enabled phone. It is a proprietary interface to download ring tones, games, applications, e-mails, directions, etc., and use instant messaging on your phone.
Pricing and availability
Most games available on Get It Now are available in two purchase options: "subscribe," which charges a monthly amount to your account, and "unlimited" which is slightly more expensive and has one-time charge. Subscription fees range from $2.99 to $4.99 per month. Purchase fees range from $4.99 to $8.99. Most applications, such as Zagat restaurant lookup, do not allow unlimited-use purchases. Any application or game that requires a data connection will use Verizon minutes.
Even though most of the applications available through Get It Now are BREW-based, the available selection of games and applications is different depending on what Verizon phone one is using.
V CAST
Overview
V CAST is Verizon's next-generation content delivery network. V CAST is powered by Verizon Wireless' EV-DO network. The typical download speed is between 400 and 700 kilobits per second with burst speeds of up to 2 megabits per second. V CAST provides streaming video clips. Some videos may be saved to the phone or a removable memory card, which cannot be read by other phones or computers. V CAST is heavily protected by digital rights management software based on Windows Media Video 9 and developed by PacketVideo. There is buffering before the video stream is played and possibly during video playback, depending on the quality of the connection. V CAST is implemented as a permanently installed BREW application on a V CAST compatible phone. The V CAST application will not allow videos to play or even to navigate menus if there is no EV-DO coverage available. Contrast this to Sprint's MobiTV system which operates over 1xRTT, the predecessor to EV-DO. V CAST will only fall back to the slower 1x when a V CAST user leaves an EV-DO area in the middle of a video clip.
V CAST is one of the few mobile phone-based systems on which more advanced games including 3-D graphics can be played. The graphic quality of these games is similar to the original Sony PlayStation or the Sega Saturn. Most, but not all, V CAST games require air-time for use.
Video Content
- News
- NBC News
- CNN to Go
- NBC Marketwatch
- Weather
- AccuWeather.com Breaking news and Forecasts
- Entertainment
- V CAST Showcase
- Just for Laughs
- Sports
- Fox Sports
- ESPN
Pricing
V CAST service costs an additional $15/month fee. The majority of videos available are included with the V CAST service plan. However, premium content such as sports clips and music videos may cost between $1.99 and $3.99 extra. Live concerts are typically offerred for free with the V CAST subscription. V CAST games are more expensive than their traditional BREW counterparts; $4 to $5 for a monthly subscription plan and $9 to $10 for unlimited use.
V CAST Enabled Phones
- LG VX8000
- LG VX8100
- LG VX9800 (also known as "The V")
- Motorola E815
- Samsung SCH-a890
- Samsung SCH-a950
- Samsung SCH-a970
- Audiovox CDM8940 (sold under the Verizon name)
- Motorola RAZR V3c
Controversy
- Recently, Telephia has published a report that Cingular Wireless drops the fewest calls across the country. Verizon Wireless advertises heavily the quality of their network above competitors.
- Verizon "cripples" the file and media transferring features of many of their cellphone offerings in order to force customers to purchase content through its "Get It Now" service. One example is the LG VX8100, a phone that features full MP3 player support. (It has a miniSD card to store MP3s, and play and pause/stop buttons on the front of the phone.) Verizon initially modified the phone's firmware to prevent MP3s from being used altogether. While newer phones were sold with the MP3 player re-enabled, and customers were usually informed of this feature, they still cannot be used as ringtones. The newest version of this phone has once again disabled this capability. Verizon's policy is in contrast, most notably, to its GSM competitors Cingular and T-Mobile, which allow their customers to use all the features that their cell phones natively have. This is also the same for CDMA carrier Sprint Nextel . Who does not lock out features to their customers.
- Verizon makes heavy use of Qualcomm's BREW techology, and uses it over Java in case of phones where both are an option. By using BREW (which is branded Get It Now), Verizon locks users into its own applications, making it impossible to install anything Verizon doesn't offer. Programs such as the standard mail reader included in some phones were removed, forcing people to buy expensive mail readers from Get It Now. It is not uncommon for CDMA carriers to implement Brew. Most of the US CDMA carriers currently use Brew. Sprint is the main exception. They have opted for the *Java interface.
- Verizon advertised the Motorola V710 as having full Bluetooth capability, when in reality it had no OBEX or OPP functions built in. After many complaints, a class action suit was filed for false advertising, not only for advertising missing capabilities, but also for telling customers who complained to Verizon that an update was coming out "in November." The lawsuit was initiated in January of 2005 and settlement decision became final on March 20, 2006, with Verizon offering to qualified members of the class action suit (purchased a V710 BEFORE February 2, 2005)a $25 credit to all of its V710 customers, or the option to trade the V710 in for $200 or original purchase price and allow them to keep their phone number and service, or $200 or original purchase price and allow them to break their contract and discontinue service with Verizon (all after numerous paperwork loops). The settlement to the lawsuit did not directly address the V710's restrictions. The same hardware crippling exists with Motorola's successor to the V710, the E815, but unlike the V710, the E815 was marked clearly that OBEX and OPP was disabled. Other carriers' versions of the V710, while still possessing some restrictions to the Bluetooth functionality, are much less restrictive overall, allowing full use of the customer's own MIDI and MP3 files for ringtones, etc.
- Verizon Wireless has removed features in firmware updates for the Motorola V710 for ringtone transfers, making it more difficult - but not impossible - to transfer MP3s from the phone's microSD card. This update also disabled editing of the homepage field in WebSessions making it more difficult to use alterate WAP gateways.
One result of this crippling has been a prominent network of "unofficial" web sites, documenting how to enable, access, or use hidden or crippled features. This often includes divulging service codes for new phone models, or homebrew software that can access otherwise hidden parts of the phone's memory system.
External link
Template:American mobile phone companies
Notes
Verizon Wireless owns approximately 98.6% of its customer base as of March 31 2005. As a result the ownership percentages of its parent companies differ slightly from the smaller figures for their proportionate customers.1 Template:Verizon Early in 2006 Verizon Annouced their intent to buy-out the remaining 45% of Stock of Verizon Wireless from The Vodafone Group.