Verizon Takes On OTT with Viewdini Video App

The service is expected to launch later this month and at first will be available only to clients with LTE (Long Term Evolution, latest standard in the mobile network technology)-capable Android smartphones, although support for other platforms is in the works. The app will be available through Google Play and is free to Verizon clients. 

Viewdini was unveiled yesterday at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association's conference in Boston, the same event where a group of cable operators announced plans to share access to each other's Wi-Fi networks. 

Viewdini could help Verizon glean profits from mobile video services, currently dominated by third -party providers like YouTube that do not contribute much to operators' top line beyond additional data revenue.  

The service reflects a broader effort within the industry to address free over-the-top services that threaten carriers' business models, just as Skype VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calling and no-charge messaging apps. Ovum released estimates early last month that over-the-top social messaging apps would cost operators $23 billion in mobile messaging revenue this year.

Major crash

More than two weeks afterwards Verizon's LTE network suffered a major crash, the industry is all in all completely in the dark about what caused the outage.