Some GREAT Verizon NEWS IMO.
Building up inventory for RadioShack should eat up some chips this quarter, and increased distribution will help long haul. Some impact on Sprint PCS maybe, but ...
Verizon has been working on Over the Air (OTA) provisioning (widely used in GSMland) using WAP for some time. I suspect they are ready to use it.
>> Verizon Wireless Tunes In to RadioShack
By J.B. Houck
Wireless NewsFactor
January 4, 2001
RadioShack and Verizon Wireless' new store-within-a-store concept will showcase Verizon services in all RadioShack-owned stores by mid-2001, the companies said.
RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) has announced that Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) will begin to offer national rate plans through the retailer's 3,800 company-owned stores across the United States.
The offering is part of a strategic partnership forged in August when RadioShack agreed to offer Verizon service in its stores alongside Sprint PCS service. RadioShack has more than 7,100 stores and dealers and said it sells more wireless phones and accessories than any other retailer.
"One of RadioShack's core businesses is telecommunications, so the ability to offer Verizon Wireless service allows us to provide our customers with a national rate plan when making a wireless phone purchase," said David Edmondson, president and chief operating officer of RadioShack.
National Rate Plan
Verizon Wireless said it serves 96 of the top 100 U.S. markets and has a national broadcast footprint that allows customer calls to stay on its network with no long distance charges or roaming fees. The company also offers a prepaid national rate plan and a wireless Web access program. The company claims it has 95 million access lines and 25 million wireless customers.
"Our alliance with Verizon Wireless allows us to offer our customers rate plans that we didn't previously have in some markets, such as National Prepay Wireless," Edmondson said.
Store within a Store
RadioShack and Verizon Wireless are developing a "store within a store" concept to showcase wireless phones, service plans, mobile Web capabilities and accessories. The display is scheduled to be in all RadioShack-owned stores by the middle of this year, RadioShack said.
Verizon Wireless, formerly Ameritech Cellular, completed its name change this summer with a US$300 million ad campaign created by half a dozen agencies serving merging units Bell Atlantic and GTE.
The company has been building name recognition by rolling out an introductory rate of $15 a month for 1,150 minutes of use to get new customers to try its service. Related plans allow one or more family members to share airtime packages at the discounted introductory rates.
Pinch on Sprint?
The Verizon-RadioShack alliance could put a crimp in Sprint PCS sales.
Part of Sprint's healthy growth in the past two years has been due to its marketing alliance with RadioShack, which gives its products instant national distribution. Sprint plays on that reach by touting itself in TV and print ads as the only seamless, digital wireless network versus competitors' combined analog-digital networks.
The company's wireless network has made it a popular target for speculation about mergers or purchase. Sprint had planned a $115 billion merger with WorldCom in 2000 but was shot down by regulators who feared the combination would dampen competition. <<
- Eric - |
