Verizon
Verizon Wireless is part of Verizon Communications, Inc., an American broadband and telecommunications company, created in 2000 when Bell Atlantic merged with GTE. The name is a portmanteau of veritas and horizon.
Looking at its revenue, Verizon Wireless is the biggest American wireless company and the large provider, bringing $43.9 billion annually. With head offices in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, the company is a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group, with 55 and 45 percent ownership respectively.
The company is one of the six major U.S. carriers to use CDMA (code division multiple access) technology, a mobile digital radio technology using codes.
Verizon Wireless offers a wide range of services, including 3G data services such as EV-DO Rev A, video-on-demand and text and picture messaging. Its innovative Get It Now service allows users to download software such as games 'through the air' wherever they are with their mobiles or phones.
Users can subscribe to the Get It Now program two ways: 'subscribe' charges a monthly amount where 'unlimited' gives you a higher priced one time fee so you can download phone and mobile games wherever you are. You may receive additional charges if you are downloading games to your phone.
Changing with the times, Verizon Wireless, along with Vodophone Group, announced an effort to begin to use LTE technology, set to replace CDMA technology. This would be a big jump but enable people more access to services such as games internationally.
Verizon Wireless has not always been portrayed in the best light. They did not make their mobile network available to people from the NARAL Pro-Choice American organization stating they were stopping the "controversial or unsavory' messages from getting through. They were forced to backtrack stating, "It was an incorrect interpretation of a dusty internal policy, that ... was designed to ward against communications such as anonymous hate messaging and adult materials sent to children."
They are also finding themselves in trouble for deactivating certain built in GPS systems in hardware such as Blackberry 8830 and 8130. These mobiles have their own GPS services but when Verizon takes on the network for mobile users, they are not able to access the free GPS services. They are then forced to purchase these GPS services, billed by Verizon at $2.99 per day or $9.99 per month. A class action lawsuit was filed November 30, 2007 regarding this allegation.
Verizon's use of Qualcomm's BREW (branded Get It Now) technology instead of the conventional Java forces mobile phone users to stick with Verizon's own products. This can be quite limiting as you're not able to use anything that is not provided by Verizon. This can get costly, although Verizon is not the only one. Most CDMA carriers use BREW - Sprint Nextel being the only exception using Java.
Although, it's not all bad. Verizon was listed at the Best Place To Work In IT in Computerworld June 2007 and one of the Top Green-IT Companies for 2008 in Computerworld, February 2008.
They're also good at giving back. The company collects old wireless phones or mobiles as well as batteries and accessories and sells those that can be salvaged and repaired as part of their HopeLine program. Proceeds raised from the program are used to help fund wireless phones and also cash grants to shelters and non-profits that focus on domestic violence prevention and awareness.
