Verizon’s latest push in connected cars will include more than just Wifi.
“The connected vehicle ecosystem is so much more than that,” Andrés Irlando, CEO of Verizon Connect, told Cheddar. “What we do is essentially help customers to optimize their connection to their vehicles and their mobile resources more generally.”
The telecom giant invested $5 billion to launch “Verizon Connect” for consumers and companies on Tuesday. It’s a merger of three fleet management and mobile software brands, Telematics, Fleetmatics, and Telogis, which together will provide logistics and data analytics.
Irlando said the technology has already helped clients boost safety and productivity. He pointed to one customer in particular, online grocer FreshDirect.
“To improve driver behavior, they’re able to track speeding, harsh braking, harsh turns, seatbelt usage,” he said. “We provide solutions that are focused on safety and security, so think about solutions like automatic crash notifications.”
Union leaders and Hollywood studios reached a tentative agreement Sunday to end a historic screenwriters strike after nearly five months, though no deal is yet in the works for striking actors.
The Week's Top Stories is a guided tour through the biggest market stories of the week, from winning stocks to brutal dips to the facts and forecasts generating buzz on Wall Street. This week we're highlighting, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard, the UAW strike, Fox Corp. and News Corp. shake-up, interest rate decision, and Cisco scooping up Splunk.