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Private (Joint Venture)
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2000
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Basking Ridge, New Jersey , USA
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''Que Nada Te Detenga formerly in Puerto Rico/Es la Compañía in Spanish-speaking US markets''
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Lowell McAdam (President and Chief Executive Officer)
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Wireless Services
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CDMA2000 1x and EV-DO (wireless voice and data services), SMS ( Text Messaging ), MMS ( Picture Messaging ), Video On Demand (V CAST), Mobile TV (V CAST Mobile TV), Location-based Service s, BREW (Get It Now), Push To Talk , AMPS , Global Phone Rental/Sales (via Vodafone ) (GSM/CDMA Hybrid Phones), Satellite Phone Rental/Sales (via Vodafone ), Pagers
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$38 Billion
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66,000
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Verizon Communications (55%)<br /> Vodafone Group (45%)
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2,200
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vzwcom
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(legally named '''Cellco Partnership''') is the largest
American wireless company and largest wireless data provider, based on revenues. Verizon Wireless owns and operates the second largest
Wireless Telecommunications network in the United States, based on total wireless customers. As of July 2007, the company served a total of 62.1 million U.S. subscribers and had an annual revenue of $38.0 billion. Headquartered in
Basking Ridge, New Jersey , the company is a joint venture of
Verizon Communications and
Vodafone Group , with 55 and 45 percent ownership respectively.
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. Bell Atlantic Mobile and NYNEX Mobile Communications was created from
Advanced Mobile Phone Service, Inc. , which was a subsidiary of AT&T created in 1978 to provide cellular service nationwide. AMPS, Inc. was divided among the
RBOC s as part of the
Bell System Divestiture .
Meanwhile, in June 1999, AirTouch Communications of ,
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%.
The name "Verizon," a
Portmanteau , 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 six U.S. carriers to use
CDMA technology, the others being Sprint Nextel's
Sprint PCS division,
Alltel ,
U.S. Cellular ,
Cricket ,
Midwest Wireless and
Metro PCS . Please see
List Of United States Mobile Phone Companies for more information. Aside from the 3 generations of CDMA (
IS-95 ,
1x , and
EV-DO ), Verizon Wireless also supports a legacy
AMPS network.
Verizon Wireless claims it invests more than $6 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 Service s, and
Push-to-Talk .
In 2000, Verizon Wireless 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" or "iN") network. The slogan for Verizon Wireless at that time was "Join in." (Reminiscent of the slogan "Join in" was used in their marketing scheme up to this day. i.e., "iN-calling," "iN-messaging," and even the toll-free number "1-800-2-JOIN-IN.")
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 played by stage actor
Paul Marcarelli ) The "test man" represents Verizon test technicians.
2
In 2005, Verizon Wireless added an "army" of network engineers into their commercials in conjunction with the "test man." The "test man" no longer says "Can you hear me now? Good." Instead, they have adopted a new slogan "It's the Network." to emphasize their network quality. (Verizon Wireless still uses the slogan "We never stop working for you." from time to time — especially on their website: http://www.verizonwireless.com)
- Carrier Of The Year - Wireless Week, April 1 , 2007
- Highest In Business Wireless Satisfaction - J.D. Power and Associates, May 17 , 2006
- Highest Customer Service Quality Rating - RCR Wireless News, January 21 , 2004
- Best Wireless Product - Wireless Systems Design, February 11 , 2004
- Carrier of the Year - Wireless Week, March 22 , 2004
- Carrier of the Year - Wireless Week, April 1 , 2006
- Best Overall Carrier - Laptop Magazine, May 2004
- Best Place to Work in IT - ComputerWorld, June 14 , 2004
- Best Place to Work in IT - Computerworld, June 19 , 2006
- 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
- Gold Well Workplace - The Wellness Councils of America, September 2005
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. April 1 , 2006
- Tops For Diversity DiversityBusiness.com, March 30 , 2006
- Training Top 100, Again Training, March 2006
Get It Now is Verizon Wireless's implementation of
Qualcomm 's
BREW technology, allowing a user to download and use applications on a Verizon Wireless Get It Now-enabled phone. It is a proprietary interface to download
Ring Tones , music, games, applications, and use
Instant Messaging on a phone. Verizon has implemented a GPS navigation application available through GetItNow which works for the most part like a standalone GPS unit. Users can also locate businesses within their vicinity, searching by category or business name. Users usually are unable to load content on the Verizon Wireless phones outside of Get It Now system; this is done for financial reasons. Verizon Wireless has exclusivity agreements with its Get It Now content providers (See
Walled Garden (media) ). Sometimes cell phone enthusiasts do unauthorized modifications to their phones or use unauthorized software to make the phone accept non- Get It Now -originated content.
- Music & Tones
- ---V CAST Music
- ---V CAST Performances
- ---Ringback Tones
- ---Ringtones
- Video
- ---V CAST Video
- ---V CAST Mobile TV
- Games
- ---V CAST Games
- Messaging
- ---TXT
- ---PIX & FLIX
- ---Mobile IM
- ---Email
- Wallpapers
- News & Info Applications
- ---Alerts
- ---Web
- ---Going
Most games available on Get It Now are available in two purchase options: "subscribe," which charges a monthly amount to an 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 $11.99 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. Often, more advanced games must be purchased and downloaded.
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.
See Also: V CAST
V CAST, Verizon's current content delivery network, is powered by Verizon Wireless'
EV-DO network. The typical download speed is between 400 and 700
Kilobit s per second with burst speeds of up to 2
Megabit s per second. V CAST provides streaming video clips. Some videos may be saved to the phone or a removable
Memory Card , though they cannot be read by other phones or computers. V CAST is heavily protected by
Digital Rights Management software. 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. 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 airtime for use, but most of the V CAST plans give users unlimited airtime for all videos and games.
Along with V CAST there is a feature called VZNavigator which allows the user to type in addresses and uses ones current GPS location giving them turn by turn directions to their destination. The feature also allows the user to browse local restaurants, movie theaters, gas stations, banks,and many other local listing. This helps people who are traveling and do not know the area. The feature can be downloaded off of Get It Now for $2.99 to use it unlimited for 24 hours or $9.99 to use it unlimited for the month. If you have V CAST it does not use any airtime. If you do not have V CAST it will only use the time it takes you to download the trip. It is a great feature to have and anyone who travels should have it!
Verizon Wireless collects no-longer-used wireless phones, batteries and accessories in any condition from any wireless service provider.
3 Phones that can be refurbished are sold for reuse and those without value are disposed of in an environmentally sound way by way of ReCellular Inc. Proceeds from HopeLine are used to provide wireless phones and cash grants to local shelters and non-profit organizations that focus on domestic violence prevention and awareness.
Verizon Wireless currently offers the "America's Choice Plan with
OnStar ," which is a bundle plan between Verizon Wireless service and OnStar service.
4 With this plan, the Verizon Wireless phone is the "primary line" and the OnStar device is the "secondary line." This plan is very similar to the "Family SharePlan," with rates starting at $69.99 USD for 700 minutes.
5
- In mid-2006, the consumer research firm Telephia published a report that suggests AT&T Mobility drops the fewest calls across the country. Verizon Wireless advertises heavily the quality of their network above competitors. According to the Consumer Beat reporter for '' The Boston Globe :''
Telephia independently measures the top four wireless carriers for a number of consumer value points. In relation to call quality, Telephia, in a letter to the four major carriers regarding this research, will not confirm or deny that Cingular drops the fewest calls. Also, Telephia has requested that Cingular update its advertising to indicate that Telephia provided the information it uses to make this claim, not that it actually supports or confirms the 'fewest dropped calls' claim.6 (See section entitled ''Tepid Support''.)
- Verizon Wireless charges customers peak minutes if a user dials his/her voicemail during peak hours which is in contrast to its competitors. A customer may have mobile to mobile but will still be charged peak minutes for dialing his/her voicemail. Many customers are used to having free minutes when checking voicemail and are unaware that Verizon Wireless is deducting peak minutes.
- 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 , T-Mobile , Sprint Nextel , and Alltel ; which allow their customers to use all the features that are available in the manufacturer's reference firmware design.
- Verizon deactivates the built-in GPS capabilities of many current phones and PDAs. For example, its recently introduced Blackberry 8830 has full GPS capabilities and the Blackberry Maps application which uses the GPS capability for tracking and navigation. Verizon has disabled the GPS, reportedly to sell subscription-based GPS services at a later date.
- 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 in the V710 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. Additionally, through a seem edit, OBEX could be enabled on the 815, but not on the 710 (the Verizon e815 lacks the OPP profile altogether). 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 makes heavy use of Qualcomm's BREW technology, 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 Nextel is the main exception. They have opted for the Java interface.
- Verizon Wireless has removed features in firmware updates for the Motorola V710 and several other newer phones 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 alternate 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.
- Verizon Wireless has implemented a standard user interface across all handsets. Somewhat reminiscent of LG's interface, this standard reduces support training costs. However, it has also anecdotally alienated many brand-loyal customers who find it not aesthetically pleasing, only minimally customizable, slower than the previous interface, and a hindrance to the functioning of several previously available phone features.
- Verizon Wireless has come under fire by "power users" of its EV-DO wireless data network (called BroadbandAccess), for using language in its terms of service which heavily restricts what activities an EV-DO user can conduct even though the service is advertised as offering "Unlimited" data usage. The language in Verizon Wireless' usage agreement states:
''Unlimited NationalAccess/BroadbandAccess services cannot be used (1) for uploading, downloading or streaming of movies, music or games, (2) with server devices or with host computer applications, including, but not limited to, Web camera posts or broadcasts, automatic data feeds, Voice over IP (VoIP), automated machine-to-machine connections, or peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, or (3) as a substitute or backup for private lines or dedicated data connections... We reserve right to limit throughput or amount of data transferred, deny or terminate service, without notice, to anyone we believe is using NationalAccess or BroadbandAccess in any manner prohibited above or whose usage adversely impacts our network or service levels.7
''
- To stem criticism of the above, Verizon Wireless now outright limits the "unlimited" use, by imposing a quota on "unlimited" use, and terminates customers who exceed it. According to '' The Washington Post ,''8 Broadband Reports ,9 tech columnist Robert X. Cringely , many wireless industry "insider" news sites and blogs,101112 Verizon advertises "unlimited" broadband service but reserves the right to terminate anyone using more than 5 GB /month (166 MB /day) regardless of use or content transferred, with no difference between permitted web browsing, or prohibited uses, such as peer-to-peer file sharing). This is a quota of about 15 minutes of continuous data transmission time per day. A PBS investigator monitored his bandwidth during normal use and discovered it to be 184 MB/day13 (See section entitled ''"Unlimited" Broadband.'').
- Verizon Wireless uses a wireless standard called CDMA . It is one of the few major wireless carriers worldwide that continues to use this technology, which was largely abandoned to GSM during the 1990s. This has resulted in the persistence of CDMA in North America, while most other countries now use GSM. Because of this, many mobile phone subscribers from North America cannot use their devices while travelling abroad. Moreover, Verizon's continued use of CDMA technology has precluded any roaming agreements between it and other United States wireless providers, such as AT&T and T-Mobile, which use the GSM standard.
Wireless (in order of customer totals)
- 228 (mnemonic ACT) is Verizon's "Over-The-Air" programming. Option 1 programs a newly provisioned phone with its assigned phone number and other critical subscriber information, or will update the phones plan if the customer has added features or updated roaming/network plan. option 2 updates the handset's Preferred Roaming List ; useful when using the phone in a new location.
2. #3282 (mnemonic DATA) provides data usage and current billing balance due.
3. #225 (mnemonic BAL) returns a text message with last payment date and amount and current balance due amount.
4. #768 (PMT) allows payment by phone.
5. #729 (PAY) allows payment for prepay accounts by phone.
6. #646 (MIN) provides minute usage report.
7. #832 (TEC) provides a free test call.
8. #4438 (GIFT) provides balances on Verizon Wireless gift cards.
9. #932 (WEB) connects the user with Internet support (verizonwireless.com)
- 611 provides customer service.
Early in 2006, Verizon announced their intent to buy out the remaining 45% of stock of Verizon Wireless from The Vodafone Group.
14 Vodafone, however, stated they “have no current plans to exit” the US market by giving up its stake in Verizon Wireless.
15
At the end of 2006, Verizon Wireless bought out West Virginia Wireless, a local GSM cell phone company.
On December 19, 2006, it was announced Verizon Wireless' CEO Denny Strigl has been called up to parent Verizon Communications to be the company's new President and COO. He was to begin serving in the new post on January 1, 2007. Verizon Wireless COO Lowell McAdam was to take over Strigl's role as CEO of VZW.
16
