From the category archives:
Verizon
by Patrick Altoft on April 17, 2007
Vonage, the beleaguered VoIP provider, has hit further problems today after they admitted they had no “workaround” to resolve the Verizon patent dispute. Vonage even confirmed in a statement that a solution is not feasible given the strength of the patents.
A court recently decided that Vonage had infringed Verizons patented technology for routing calls between the internet and standard phone networks. Vonage has been banned from using the technology to service new customers, existing customers are not affected.
Vonage requested an emergency stay, telling investors not to worry and that a “workaround” would be found.
In a statement provided on Friday it seems that Vonage are unable to find a solution:
“Vonage currently has no workarounds that moot the need for a stay. While Vonage has studied methods for designing around the patents, removal of the allegedly infringing technology, if even feasible, could take many months to fully study and implement.”
Shares in Vonage have plunged more than 80 percent since last year and CEO Mike Snyder resigned just last week. The company is losing 2.5% of its 2.2 million customers every month.
Whilst the above might indicate a bleak future for Vonage some analysts are painting a more positive picture. Apparently the Verizon patents might be illegitimate as they are based on VocalTec technology dating back to 1996.
The claims in both patents were anticipated by open standards assembled by the VoIP Forum in 1996 and published in January 1997 with the participation of members from Cisco Systems, Microsoft, IBM, Nortel, Intel, Motorola, Lucent, and Vocaltec Communications, among others. The work of the VoIP Forum, publication plans, and disclosure requirements were noted in a correspondence between the VoIP Forum and the ITU Telecommunications Standardization Sector. Verizon filed another patent application (6,298,062) in the same time period that does reference the Kahane-Petrack paper of January 1997.
by Patrick Altoft on March 21, 2007
Verizon Chief Executive Ivan Seidenberg received a pay package worth $20.2 million last year according to official filings made public this week.
The package consisted of over $2 million in salary, $4.2 million in non-equity incentive compensation, $13.1 million in stock awards and $734,400 in perks.
Verizon shares rose 24 percent during 2006 so no doubt they will say the pay package is justified
by Patrick Altoft on March 6, 2007
An interesting article on Consumerist today titled
href="http://consumerist.com/consumer/verizon/8-confessions-of-a-former-verizon-sales-rep-241665.php"
class=boldcopy target="_blank">8 Confessions Of A Former Verizon Sales
Rep offers useful insider advice on how to get a better deal from
Verizon.
The advice includes not opting for a 2 year contract so you can
upgrade to a new phone every year, mentioning the lost or stolen
program to get a 25% discount and signing up to an unlimited data plan
to get a $100 discount only to cancel the plan the next day.
Ask for a loyalty credit on the phone before going to the store.
One way to work the system if you have New Every 2 and are out of
contract is to call customer care, have them put you back into
contract, but ask for a loyalty credit (up to $60 off your next months
bill), then go into the retail store and use your New Every 2. The two
credits can’t be combined and that is the only way to get both. I’ve
never seen this not work, although they could technically say that you
already got a credit, but the system are not that informative and I
have never seen that happen. Just make sure you know the contract
rules for VZW in your state, and make sure you go to the store in time
to cancel the new contract in case you cant use the NE2.
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by Patrick Altoft on March 2, 2007
Verizon has this week launched a new mobile TV service called V Cast Mobile TV.
The broadcast television service will be available on compatible cell phones in the US market at a cost of around $15 to $25 per month and will include content from 8 leading networks.
We reported that MobiTV had reached 2 million users recently and it will be interesting to see how the market takes shape.
V Cast Mobile TV is delivered over a wireless network by Qualcomm and requires a compatible V Cast handset from Verizon to receive the additional signal.
Mobile TV is likely to become content driven and needs the main channels in order to succeed. Verizon has the big names on board from the start with 24 hour coverage from CBS Mobile, Comedy Central, ESPN, Fox Mobile, MTV, NBC 2Go, NBC News 2Go and Nickelodeon.
Most of the output will be the same as normal TV but some programmes will be moved to different time slots.
The first V Cast handset, from Samsung, costs around $150 with a new Verizon contract and a second handset from LG will be released in the next few weeks.
by Patrick Altoft on January 29, 2007
News is emerging today that Verizon Wireless, the second largest US cell phone network, passed on the opportunity to be the exclusive iPhone distributor two years ago.
Verizon are understood to have had lengthy discussions with Apple but decided that the deal was not “mutually beneficial” to them. Apple had apparently requested a percentage of monthly cell phone fees as well as control over where and how the phones could be sold and a relationship with the users.
Most people had thought that Cingular were very lucky to be given the rights to the iPhone. Its not often that a premium product is guaranteed to attract huge sales volumes like the iPhone is promising.
Apple and Cingular have not released details on the terms of their deal but Steve Jobs has insisted he retains control over how the iPhone is distributed. Previous comments by Apple indicated that they chose Cingular after the two companies worked well together in the production of the Motorola ROKR with its iTunes integration.
Apple invest a lot of money in marketing their products and to lose control over distribution could allow the iPhone to be sold at a discounted rate in stores such as Wal-Mart or Best Buy, both Verizon partner stores. Verizon quite understandably didn’t want to prejudice their current relationships with some of the largest stores in the US.
We understand that Apple also wanted complete control over the customer care aspects of the iPhone and insisted on making the final decisions on whether faulty phones were replaced or repaired.
by Patrick Altoft on January 29, 2007
The LG Chocolate has already taken the mobile phone world by storm in its White and standard Chocolate versions but its now coming to Verizon in Mint Chocolate, Cherry Chocolate and Strawberry Chocolate.
The Mint Chocolate and Cherry Chocolate versions are already available (see below) and the Strawberry will be released soon.
by Patrick Altoft on January 7, 2007
We knew LG would be releasing a phone to work with Verizon and their new mobile TV network and this afternoon they released more details.
The handset is the LG 9400 pictured below. The screen is a swivel design so you can view in landscape or portrait format and it looks to have a dedicated TV button and GPS. Full details on the specification are not yet available.
Update: the camera will be 1.3 mega pixels.
V CAST Mobile TV
The V CAST Mobile TV service is apparently “the first true mobile TV service in the nation” and is in partnership with MediaFLO. Expect the service to be launched in the next 2 months with content from NBC, CBS, FOX, MTV and others.
The new service will be accessible on new V CAST Mobile TV handsets via a dedicated V CAST Mobile TV key. The programming will be presented in “time block”/scheduled availability, consistent with familiar cable and satellite TV models, in both Eastern and Pacific Time zones. The initial lineup will include programming from TV’s best channels and shows, including CBS, Comedy Central, FOX, NBC News, NBC Entertainment, MTV and Nickelodeon; additional channels are expected to be added to the lineup after launch.
The program guide includes date, time and program information, and also allows customers to view programming details up to 48 hours ahead of the scheduled broadcast. A dedicated V CAST Mobile TV Web site will feature a customized program listing grid, a search feature to discover programs by keywords, content information and previews, and editorial and community features, as well as service information and support. The service also includes optional parental control features, consistent with existing multimedia standards, which will be accessible from the Options Menu to allow parents to set ratings for TV and movies.
