“Can you hear me now?” – Verizon

Many may remember the Verizon commercials titled “Can you hear me now?” And while the spokesperson may have moved to Sprint and is focusing on price, the lighting industry may now be hearing Verizon calling.

And electrical and lighting distributors may be hearing from a new competitor … a new channel.

While Verizon is known as a telecom company, it is also well known to many electrical manufacturers utility divisions as a customer … who typically buys direct.

And now, with their acquisition of Sensity Systems, they could become a conduit to corporate America, and eventually into many homes, for lighting as well as the data that may flow through lighting.  And perhaps with their financial resources, legions of technicians, Yahoo and AOL and more they can be offering LaaS (lighting as a service), installed PoE, smart lighting for home and …

Through Sensity Verizon has a relationship with Acuity (who has / had a strategic alliance with Sensity.)

Sensity is a company that “has focused on networking cities relying on an infrastructure built around LED-based street lights”.  So, the “leader in mobile wireless networks” gains access to a “proven smart-city and Internet of Things (IoT) technology suite.

Or, think of it this way, once Verizon, through Sensity, makes your street smart, how much more of a leap is it for them to offer services to your office / building, the local shopping mall, apartment buildings or your home!

In addition to buying your router, or cable tv and more, you’ll now be able to buy your lighting services. Perhaps Verizon resellers will offer smart lighting upgrade packages and data monitoring services (and eventually HVAC services as well as alarm services), thereby generating incremental subscription services … and all can be controlled through your choice of mobile phone on the Verizon network.

This, theoretically could significantly impact the future of PoE or another “over communications infrastructure” lighting service. If these types of services take off, how do infrastructure needs of buildings change?

Verizon could compete with Cisco for leadership in this space.  They have the technology, the sales organization, the installer network, access to public infrastructure, financial resources, customer service / billing infrastructure, the mentality for monthly billing and relationships with many manufacturers in the electrical industry (as well as some distributors).

Can you hear a new channel, or disruptor, calling?