Verizon and AT&T have taken contrasting approaches to the connected car market, though both can be considered early movers in this potentially large area. AT&T has focused heavily on consumer offerings with its market leading AT&T Drive, while Verizon has been closer to the auto makers, but it is now extending its reach towards the drivers, particularly those of ‘legacy’ (ie unconnected) vehicles.
Verizon Vehicle promises services such as roadside assistance and monitoring to cars which cannot connect to a wireless network (about 200m in the US). The offering uses the pricing structures so familiar to cellcos – $14.99 a month with a two-year contract – and works through an OBD (on-board diagnostics) reader, which plugs into an OBD II port, featured in about 9,000 car models, according to the carrier.
The reader can access information on the engine, battery and other components for diagnostics purposes, and can then issue predictive alerts, provide the driver’s location via GPS to assistance and breakdown services, and provide one-button access to customer care agents or mechancis. The user can be connected to help and information services via the Verizon Vehicle Android or iOS smartphone app.
This is attractive because it brings one of the primary benefits of the connected car – the reassurance of easily available assistance – to conventional vehicles, though arguably it might also remove one of the biggest incentives for drivers to upgrade to a fully connected vehicle. Erik Goldman, president of Verizon Telematics, said: “It’s like having your own mechanic take a look under the hood each time you drive your vehicle.”
Verizon Vehicle stems from the carrier’s acquisition of Hughes Telematics for $612m in 2012 and is also a response to the OnStar after-market service, which replaced Verizon with AT&T in 2013.