Browse by Tags

There's still a cloud of uncertainty hovering over Verizon ( NYSE: VZ ) Wireless' on-again, off-again plans to begin charging aggregators, messaging companies and other partners 3 cents per SMS delivered on its network. And yet, plenty of companies are expecting the worst – which would see Verizon implement the new charge Nov. 1, which it clearly outlined in contract addendums with various affected companies last week. We're told Verizon has been holding meetings with some of the companies that were caught off guard by the change last week. It's too soon to tell whether fears have been adequately allayed or if Verizon is simply buying time. We recently caught up with Zaw Thet, CEO of 4INFO, to get his take on the snafu and how the fee increase might impact his company and so many others. What's your initial reaction to this change? Do you think it's a negotiating tactic on Verizon's part? "We're really disappointed about it. It's unfortunate that Verizon is trying to go down this path when companies like 4INFO have driven so much direct and related business to them over the past four plus years. I can't speculate on what Verizon is thinking. There are several reasons why they may have chosen this approach, but since we're in direct dialog with them it wouldn't be appropriate to comment. Their revised statement (on Friday afternoon) was welcome news." If implemented, how will this new fee impact your business? "Verizon will make it difficult to continue to work with them in the same capacity that we currently do." Will you simply have to cut off services to the customers on any carriers charging these high fees? "We will certainly consider that alternative." Much more after the jump... How can you adapt to make these new hits on revenue less painful or diminished? "4INFO's reputation with customers and partners is built on the fact that we provide the best in quality content – from...

Verizon Wireless's ( NYSE: VZ ) $28.1 billion acquisition of Alltel will create the largest U.S. wireless carrier, but at the same time, it will eliminate one of the most innovative carriers in the country, which begs the question: Is Verizon buying Alltel for its towers and subscribers, or also for its forward-looking approach to the market? As a regional carrier, Alltel may only serve 13 million subscribers in limited territories, but that gives the company a level of comfort and flexibility to quickly roll-out new services without the constraints larger carriers face. It doesn't worry that millions of users will start using a new service overnight that crash the network, and it doesn't have to train as many customer-service and retail representatives every time it launches a new phone or application. So, the concern is that once apart of Verizon this attitude will fade. Some of it probably will, but if the merger gains regulatory approval, will companies lose an important petri dish, or gain a larger one? As an example, Alltel was Seattle-based Ontela first customer. CEO Dan Shapiro said he heard about the potential merger yesterday while in a board meeting. Immediately, the topic of conversation focused on how it would affect the industry. "There's two different thoughts," he said. "There's the conventional wisdom that the big carrier eats smaller carriers, and all good things come to the end," he said. But they came up with a second scenario: "They are buying a hard asset with towers and subscribers—that's 80 percent of the truth. Another piece, is that Alltel has been a pioneer that experiments with the way to bring value to its subscribers, outside of text and voice services, and that's valuable. They have a full-time business development person in Seattle to make sure that everything gets back to Little Rock. I strongly suspect that Verizon sees that culture of innovation and that skill-set as a way to maximize...