By Chris Mills
Earlier this year, it emerged that Verizon is very stealthily funding a company called Visible, which is offering a slightly different kind of wireless service. Subscribers currently need an invite to join, and if they manage to sneak in, they get a slightly restricted unlimited plan for $40, including unlimited calling and texting. Compared to the standard single-line rate of around $70 a month that other carriers offer, it's a great deal.
But Verizon's handling of the rollout has been very weird from the start. As a note from Wave7 Research points out, Visible "has no presence at Verizon stores, at national retail, or at independent prepaid dealer stores, based on checks and conversations." You still need an early invite code to sign up for the service, and overall, there's no move whatsoever to try and acquire customers.