Verizon Discontinues Home Automation Service After 2 Years

An anonymous reader writes "Verizon has discontinued its Home Monitoring and Control solution, a $10/month service for do-it-yourselfers that enables remote monitoring and control of security, lighting, thermostats and more. The author notes Verizon 'was attempting to become the first successful provider of a DIY security/automation system that had a monthly fee separate from a professionally monitored security system. ... Providers could (and do) charge premiums of $10 or more for automation and self-monitored security as an attachment to professional monitoring, but not as a standalone service.'"

DIY, huh?

[JohnFen]

If you're paying a third party for a service, it's not DIY.

I've had DIY home security for almost 20 years now. There's no need to pay for monitoring. When something is worth alerting me about, the system sends me a text ( before that, it paged me).

Not in their wheelhouse

[John3]

They pushed the service on every call I made to FIOS tech support or Verizon billing, so they certainly communicated the availability of the service. However, they never really had a shot at making this service fly due to a number of challenges.

- There just aren't a lot of devices linked yet within a home, especially since Verizon was targeting a novice and not someone who's played with X10 or can configure their own router.

- Verizon support is terrible for most products, and this would likely have been even worse.

- Who really needs to control their lighting and thermostats more than they already do. By now anyone with a computer or Verizon Internet service likely has a programmable thermostat, motion sensor outdoor lights, and timers on lamps for when they go on vacation. Is it worth paying a bloated company like Verizon $120 a year to help you manage what you're already handling fine for free?

The nail in the coffin was probably Google purchasing Nest. And no, I did not RTFA.

MBA "Leadership"

[ltrand]

You know its funny, these guys once in a while get to a market too early, then because revenue is too weak, decide it isn't promising enough to invest in. Players enter the market (Nest, Google, etc) and it slowly starts to pick up steam. MBA's higher up decide it's been "long enough" so divest themselves of the endeavor. Mark my words, within the next 36 months there will be an explosion in that marketspace, some Verizon executive is going to scream "why didn't we see this" and then they will take 2 years reentering the market they tried to start.

This is why I laugh at large corporation "innovation".