General Description
Verizon Wireless is the largest and most advanced wireless mobile service provider in the USA and a pacesetter in mobile telephony technology. The company commenced in the year 2000 as a joint venture between Bell Atlantic the then a mobile phone manufacturer and Vodafone, the British, telecommunication giant. Verizon joined the market with a bang, backed up by the innovative use of technology and the financial might that came with being a wholly owned subsidiary of two multinationals. The combination of technology and ready money enabled its rapid expansion by attracting new customer and acquiring competitors enabling it to rise to be the largest mobile service provider in the USA. Eventually, Bell Atlantic, which had then changed into Verizon Communication bought out Vodafone hence, becoming the sole owner of Verizon Wireless. Currently, the company has almost 150 million subscribers spread across the entire United States. It operates on CDMA2000 network for standard phones and the innovative 4G LTE network for smartphones (Verizon Wireless, 2018) .
Technological Challenges Facing Verizon
Boeing Inc., a major aircraft manufacturer, can still use technology it developed half a century ago, yet Verizon wireless might not even be able to use some of the technology it developed last year because it is already obsolete. Mobile telephony can be considered as a creation of technological advancements, but the constant advancement of technology is also its greatest challenge for industry service providers. One of the largest drivers of technological advancements in the mobile phone is competition, which is twofold. On the one side there is competition between mobile phone manufacturers, and on the other, there is competition between mobile service providers. From its very inception, Verizon has had to continually advance its technology to meet the competition-driven advancements and at a very high cost.
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Current Performance in Technology
Verizon has remained a kind of technological pacesetter in the industry it operates in. Indeed, most technological commentators have placed Verizon as either the very best technologically or among the very best. The smartphone has undergone major changes since it came to be at the beginning of the 21 st century. The changes have always necessitated technological advancements by mobile service providers to match the new platforms. Verizon has been able to provide services that suit all common platforms from iOS, Android to Windows Phone. It has also developed secondary components to enhance the experience of its customers. Among the modern advancements that the competition has not been able to match is the use of WI-FI and 4G LTE voice calls (Verizon Wireless, 2018) .
Forecast its Projected Performance
Among the best ways to predict the future is to look at the past trends. Verizon’s past trends as far as technology is concerned show that the company has been advancing gradually in technology. In its early years, technological advancements at Verizon were geared towards survival in the harsh market. After some years, Verizon gained a market niche, and its technological advancements became about competition and expansion. By its tenth year of operation, Verizon was already ahead of its competition technologically and was now setting the pace, a fact that has remained to date (Verizon Wireless, 2018) . The future projections, therefore, it that the company will continue to thrive and shine technologically.
Impending Opportunities or Challenges
The greatest opportunity in the future of mobile telephony is the internet. CDMA was the platform of the traditional mobile phone in all aspects. When the internet came, some functions were moved as it is cheaper. 4G LTE technology has proven that all mobile services including voice calls can be done purely on the internet. Shifting from CDMA completely is thus, one of the greatest opportunities for Verizon. The greatest challenge for the company is the lack of consensus by mobile providers. For example, the largest manufacturers of mobile phones by volume are Apple Inc. and Samsung. Instead of having a singular platform, the two use iOS and Android respectively with other manufacturers such as Microsoft also having different platforms. The platform variations are a major challenge for Verizon as it has to be compatible with each of them.
References
Verizon Wireless, (2018). Verizon Wireless ( Cellco Partnership ). https://www.verizon.com/about / homepage
