Businessweek

Verizon Communications Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides communications, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental agencies worldwide. Segments The company operates through two segments, Verizon Wireless and Wireline. VERIZON WIRELESS This segment’s communications products and services include wireless voice and data services and equipment sales, which are provided to consumer, business, and government customers across the United States. This segment primarily includes Cellco Partnership doing business as Verizon Wireless. Cellco Partnership is a joint venture formed by the combination of the U.S. wireless operations and interests of the company and Vodafone Group Plc (Vodafone). The company owns a controlling 55% interest in Verizon Wireless and Vodafone owns the remaining 45%. Product Offerings Wireless Services The company offers its wireless services on a postpaid and prepaid basis. Accounts include single connection plans, family plans, Share Everything plans, and corporate accounts. Postpaid connections represent individual lines of service for which a customer is billed in advance a monthly access charge in return for a monthly network service allowance and usage beyond the allowance is billed in arrears. The company’s prepaid service enables individuals to obtain wireless services without a long-term contract or credit verification by paying for various services in advance. In 2012, Verizon Wireless launched the Share Everything plans, which were made available to both new and existing postpaid customers. The Share Everything plans also include the Mobile Hotspot service on the company’s smartphones at no additional charge. The Mobile Hotspot service allows a customer to use its network to create a Wi-Fi network that could be used by Wi-Fi enabled devices. In January 2013, Verizon Wireless announced it would begin offering shared data plans for business, with the Share Everything plans for Small Business and the Nationwide Business Data Packages and Plans. The company offers access to various wireless services, including Internet access through its range of devices. Its customers could access the Internet on all of its smartphones, as well as its basic phones that include HTML Web-browsing capability. The company offers various packages of wireless services that allow customers, regardless of the device, to select the plan that matches their network usage patterns. Its pricing models offer customers options for smartphones, basic phones, tablets, and other devices. The company also offers service that enables its customers to access the Internet wirelessly at broadband speeds on notebook computers and tablets that either have embedded fourth-generation (4G) long-term evolution technology (LTE) or third-generation (3G) evolution—data optimized (EV-DO) modules, or that are used in conjunction with separate devices that enable access to this service, such as smartphones and USB modems, as well as Jetpacks and other devices that provide a mobile Wi-Fi connection. In addition, the company offers messaging services, which enable its customers to send and receive text, picture, and video messages. Its consumer-focused multimedia offerings, which are primarily provided through third-party arrangements, including applications providing music, video, gaming, news, and other content to its customers, while its business-focused offerings, which are designed to increase the productivity of its business customers, include solutions that enable customers to access the Internet and their corporate intranets, as well as products that enable wireless email across its portfolio of wireless devices. The company’s location-based services provide its customers with directions to their destination and enable its business customers to locate, monitor, and communicate with their mobile field workers. Its global data services allow its customers to access their email on its Global Ready Phones from various international destinations and to access the Internet at such destinations with laptops that are either Global Ready, tethered to a Global R