Home » Broadband "Shortage" »Consumer News »Editorial & Site News »Internet Overcharging »Online Video »Verizon »Wireless Broadband » Currently Reading:

What Spectrum Crisis: Verizon Wireless Tries to Monetize Video Usage With New App

Verizon encourages customers to pig out on wireless-delivered streaming video.

Despite claims of a looming data usage crisis created by insufficient wireless spectrum, Verizon Wireless is introducing a new app that will encourage customers to find and watch streaming video on their mobile devices.

Viewdini premiers today on the Android platform, and Verizon hopes customers will use it to hunt down their favorite videos from Netflix, Hulu Plus, mSpot, and Comcast Xfinity, all from the Verizon Wireless app.

“We are just seeing a hunger for people wanting to watch video,” Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead said in an interview with AllThingsD. “I think this will capture the audience’s imagination.”

If customers use it to stream bandwidth heavy video on a tiered data plan, Verizon will also have the customer’s attention when the bill arrives.

Viewdini, considered one of Verizon’s “key product launches” for the year, does not amount to much on examination. The service does not host videos, it merely indexes them from other videocentric websites. The app will be exclusive to Verizon Wireless, but is not the company’s first foray in the competitive video streaming marketplace.

The Verizon Video app offers streamed video entertainment, but with a twist. Many titles offered by Verizon Video cannot be accessed while on Wi-Fi and require the company’s 3G or 4G network to watch, which counts against your usage allowance.

Mead

There is no indication yet whether Viewdini will have similar restrictions.

While Mead claims the company has several early warning indicators for customers approaching their monthly usage cap, he admits the company hopes to make additional revenue from customers who choose to exceed their allowance and buy additional data.

“We look at it as great flexibility for customers,” Mead called that choice.

While Verizon joins other wireless carriers in calling urgently for additional wireless spectrum, its marketing department does not recognize any wireless data shortage, and continues to introduce new products that encourage their customers to use an increasing amount of data, from which Verizon admits it will earn an increasing percentage of its revenue.

Share






Search This Site:

Contributions:

Recent Comments:

  • Robert: This one is even funnier: AUDITION REEL 1: http://youtu.be/IFYYFHPP9pw...
  • Robert: Wow. I'm amazed that this company just flat out plagiarized the well-known Frontier Airlines ad campaign. I mean, if you're going to rip-off a camp...
  • moving companies Arlington VA: Hello just wantеԁ to give you a brief heaԁѕ up and let you know a few of the images aren't loading correctly. I'm not sure w...
  • Alperion: I purchased the motorola sb6121 and I honestly think that it is the cause for why my internet keeps dying. At first I thought it was the signal but a...
  • KM: Philip The Comcast gateway is a Technicolor TC8305C. I don't actually have a battery yet. Thats why I'm looking for a source. The best I have is fr...
  • Phillip Dampier: Long time readers here will know, of course, that we chase everyone that is pro-company, anti-consumer, regardless of party....
  • Phillip Dampier: Give me the model/type of the current battery in your system and I'll do some research. Sometimes the low low price elsewhere is for lousy Chinese bat...
  • KM: Anyone know a source for third party batteries for these? Comcast's $35 + shipping seems high, especially if you want 2 which the box allows....
  • elfonblog: Yeah, I'm getting pretty sick of the word "unlimited" meaning "for any amount of time" rather than "for any amount of activity". Of course, people thi...
  • Paul Houle: Wow, here's an example of a cable company doing the right thing....
  • txpatriot: Thanx I missed Hoyle. Everyone else cited in the article was identified by party affiliation except Hoyle and Black. I was just trying to ensure you...
  • Phillip Dampier: That should be evident from the fact the Dems controlled the legislature for a century until 2011. Hoyle and Harrell were also Democrats....

Your Account: