Verizon’s Desperate Attempt to Stay Relevant: Launching Satellite Messaging Service to Compete with Google
In a move that’s being hailed as a Hail Mary pass, Verizon is finally joining the satellite messaging game, announcing that it will launch a service that allows certain smartphones to access emergency messaging and location sharing via satellite. But don’t be fooled – this is just a desperate attempt to stay relevant in a market dominated by Google and its recent announcement of the Satellite SOS feature.
According to Verizon, the service will launch this fall, and will allow "certain smartphones" to access emergency messaging and location sharing via satellite. But what does that even mean? Will it be available to all customers, or just those who are willing to shell out extra cash for the privilege? And what about the cost? Verizon claims that there will be "no additional costs planned for this service," but we all know that’s just a bunch of corporate doublespeak.
But wait, it gets even better. Verizon is also planning to allow customers to send text messages via satellite sometime next year. Because, you know, that’s exactly what the world was missing – the ability to send slow, delayed text messages via satellite. It’s like Verizon is trying to make us all nostalgic for the good old days of pagers and payphones.
And let’s not forget about the partnership with Skylo, the company that’s powering Google’s Satellite SOS feature. Because, of course, Verizon would rather partner with a company that’s already proven itself to be successful, rather than trying to go it alone. It’s like they’re trying to piggyback off of Google’s success, rather than trying to create their own.
But what about AST SpaceMobile, the company that Verizon invested $100 million into earlier this year? Apparently, Verizon is still planning to partner with them, despite the fact that Skylo is already powering the Satellite SOS feature. It’s like Verizon is trying to hedge its bets, just in case Skylo doesn’t work out.
In conclusion, Verizon’s satellite messaging service is just a desperate attempt to stay relevant in a market dominated by Google. It’s a bunch of corporate doublespeak, and it’s just going to end up confusing and frustrating customers. So, let’s just ignore it and focus on the real players in the market – Google and its Satellite SOS feature.
