It looks like Verizon Wireless may finally have a low cost brand to compete with the likes of AT&T's Cricket Wireless, T-Mobile's MetroPCS and Sprint's Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile brands.
Visible is a newly launched wireless service provider. A representative of the company confirmed to BestMVNO that Visible is owned by Verizon but will operate independently from it.
How Visible Works
A company spokesperson explained to me that Visible should not be classified as an MVNO or prepaid wireless service provider. Instead it is a "new kind of network provider" that will combine "Verizon's 4G LTE cell tower coverage with a cloud based infrastructure and systems." Given that it is a cloud based infrastructure, subscribers will need to use an app Updated 5/17/2018: A couple of Visible testers have notified me that an APP is not required for service. The app that Visible is marketing is only used for setting up your account and paying your bills (find it for iOS). Visible's service seems like it may be VoLTE based as the company says that you can talk and use data at the same time. as the company proclaims for their talk and text needs. In fact
Visible describes itself on its website as:
"Visible
It's phone service. In an app. "
Visible hopes to differentiate itself from competing platforms by offering service on "America's best 4G network."
"We believe our customers will find the strengths of America's best 4G network appealing, and we hope to utilize our technology to continue evolving our product to meet our customers' needs" - Company Spokesperson
Visible is so named to represent clarity to the consumer. Visible offers one plan, and one price.
Visible's Phone Plan, Pricing, And Privacy Policy
Phone Plan
The service is priced at $40/month all-in, for unlimited talk, text and data with no annual contracts. Data speeds are limited to 5 Mbps with video streaming limited to a maximum resolution of 480p. There's nothing in Visible's terms of service about a data prioritization policy where data would slow down during times of heavy network traffic. Given that speeds are already throttled to 5Mbps, they may not have one.
Mobile hotspot is not permitted. (Update: Due to popular demand, Visible is now allowing hotspot.)
Service is available by invite only, so if you're interested in service, you need to get an invite code from a current subscriber. For the time being, only iPhones are allowed on the network. Most iPhones will work on Visible with the exception of the iPhone SE and some iPhone 7 models. Android support will come at a later date.
Despite not wanting to be known as a prepaid wireless service provider, Visible's terms state that "the availability of service depends on your payment in advance of the monthly charge when it is due." This would seem to indicate that their plan is in fact prepaid.
Visible accepts Venmo, PayPal, debit and credit cards for payment.
Privacy Policy
Privacy conscientious consumers may want to be aware of Visible's privacy policy. The company states that it does collect personally identifiable information such as:
- Information about the calls you make and receive
- Text messages you send and receive
- Websites you visit
- Mobile applications that you use
- Wireless network and device information such as your IP address and connection speed, mobile number, device and advertising identifiers, browser type and operating system.
Visible says that it will use the data collected to deliver service to you, market to you and for other business purposes.
Other business purposes include sharing certain information about you with affiliates for marketing. Visible states that you can limit the sharing of certain types of information by opting out of it.
Some of the types of tracking would seem to be par for the course, such as tracking calls and text messages. However, tracking what applications you are using and the websites you visit may be a bit off putting for some.
Editor's Take
Visible's pricing is certainly something to take notice of as is their privacy policy. Once fully launched and open to all, Visible will become the cheapest Verizon based provider to offer an unlimited everything plan albeit with speeds throttled to 5Mbps. The cheap price of course comes with some potential caveats. Will customers really enjoy good call quality with a cloud based infrastructure? Will they mind giving up some privacy in exchange for a cheaper rate?
Time will tell.
I just wanna know who the f*** to call and find out why my phone service is off just because my internet is turned off. My internet is with Spectrum and it was turned off yesterday so I have no cable. internet OR phone. Gas lighting jerks. Don’t get this crap. You leave your driveway, NO PHONE SERVICE TIL YOU HIT A HOTSPOT. S-U-C-K-S!! IM OUT!!!
I just subscribed to the service and live in Alaska. I’ve been in communication with customer service a few times already and have experienced no issues. They’ve been very quick to respond via texting and chatting. I also asked them about the hotspot, and they indicated twice that using the phones as a hotspot is totally allowed and unlimited at the same throttled speed.
I will give you more info as I try out the service. I get the sim on Monday. Stay tuned…
I haven’t been able to use my visible Lte data for 8 days since I got this service my data was the only thing that didn’t work
The app is only for setting up service and paying your bill. Everything else is as any other cell service on the iPhone. Their customer service is atrociously bad. The worst I have yet encountered. The LTE only service is also not very reliable. It seems Verizon puts Visible on the very last priority when it comes to calls, texts and data. The calls are choppy, texts are delayed and data is slow. I will not renew next month. You get what you pay for.
I am on Visible. Calls and texts are with native IOS apps, not some custom app. The service seems fine, but we did experience an outage today while while Verizon’s network was fine. That’s a little disconcerting.