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Verizon is reportedly forming an offer for British carrier Vodafone, in order to buy out its stake in Verizon Wireless. The rumored proposal would see Verizon taking complete control in the jointly-owned carrier, and Vodafone exchanging its 55-percent share in Verizon Wireless for $100 billion, divided evenly between cash and stock.
Verizon and AT&T are said to be working together in order to acquire and then break apart Vodafone, according to a rumor. After purchasing the British carrier, Verizon would in theory take control of Vodafone's 45-percent share of Verizon Wireless, while AT&T would own all assets located outside of the United States, though the rumor already appears to have been dismissed.
Verizon Wireless has updated its messaging application to include integrated messaging over multiple devices. The Verizon Messages service is now cross-platform, with messages able to be sent and received through one phone number via an Internet-connected device, or through a computer using the online account manager.
Mirroring earlier talks between the carriers, Verizon and Vodafone are reportedly looking for ways to "resolve" their relationship in the jointly-owned carrier Verizon Wireless. It is claimed that the two companies are in discussions to either fully merge the two entities or for Verizon to partly or fully buy out Vodafone's 45-percent stake in Verizon Wireless, before the end of this year.
Verizon Wireless has detailed its forthcoming shared plans that were alluded to in recent comments. The Share Everything plan will enable up to 10 Verizon devices to share unlimited voice minutes and SMS/MMS messages, with a single data allowance between all handsets. Provision for mobile hotspot functionality are also included, though tablets are included at an extra charge.
Twitter has upgraded the direct messaging capabilities for its texting service. Now, in addition to tweets, users whose service providers support MMS can attach and share videos. To send, all a user need do is enter the text of a tweet as normal, attach a photo to the message, and send it to the relevant Twitter code.
The joint venture between AT&T, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless that is mobile payment company Isis will get a more than $100 million investment from its founders, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources. The private financing will help the company compete with rival firms that offer mobile payments, including Google. How much funding will come Isis' way depends on how successful the company is at bringing banks and merchants onboard, however.
Mobile commerce services provider Isis has identified Austin, Texas as one of its first target markets. Starting sometime in the first six months of 2012, Austin residents will be able make purchases at participating shops throughout the city by using an Isis-enabled phone with NFC instead of swiping a credit card. The team didn't say which specific stores or services would get the new support.
At the Business Innovation Forum in California on Wednesday, Verizon Wireless executive director of LTE didn't provide any direct reasons for the network's outage late in April. When pressed, Brian Higgins told the audience Verizon took steps to ensure the problem won't reoccur, but did not provide any details on why it happened or which of its vendors is to blame, ConnectedPlanet wrote on Wednesday. The company's 3G and LTE networks went out for 24 hours across the US.
