NEW YORK, Nov. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Seeking to
accelerate communities' smart infrastructure and ignite the new
fabric of urban spaces, Verizon today announced that it has
purchased substantially all of the assets of LQD WiFi LLC., a
private company based in New York.
Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Mike Lanman, senior vice
president, Enterprise Products and Internet of Things at Verizon,
said: "LQD's Palo technology hubs capture Verizon's vision of
delivering citizen engagement experiences by connecting people with
their communities while providing critical security, transportation
and wayfinding solutions as well as Wi-Fi capabilities. This
transaction uniquely positions us to utilize our unmatched
infrastructure, platforms and network at scale to deploy elegant
and engaging community technology hubs that connect, inform,
inspire and support people where they live, work and play."
LQD Founder and CEO Randy
Ramusack said: "We designed Palo, from day one, to be part
of the community, offering Wi-Fi, public safety features and a
unique, interactive community engagement platform. Palo's
human-scale touch screen lets users explore and connect with the
local community creating multiple ways to engage, through an
innovative, purposeful and curated experience."
"LQD is thrilled to join Verizon to redefine the urban space. As
a world leader in wireless technology and smart communities,
Verizon's expertise, global scale, and leading media platforms will
enable us to deliver on our mission to provide an unbounded flow of
information to all people. By bringing Palo to the streets, we're
connecting cities to their citizens, citizens to their
neighborhoods, and enhancing communities across the country,"
Ramusack continued.
Next-generation urban technology is becoming increasingly
important as citizen's expectations for smart city infrastructure
increases. With LQD's technology, Verizon aims to address key
community needs such as fostering economic development, bridging
the digital divide, facilitating transportation and traffic
management and enhancing personal security and urban
planning. LQD and Verizon are currently designing solutions
for municipalities, private developers, academic institutions and
entertainment venues. Verizon also sees opportunity to promote
civic innovation and deliver data driven solutions leveraging the
open data platforms of cities. These solutions will help
communities better inform and engage with their constituents.
New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson said: "We want New Rochelle to be an ideal place to live and
work. We recognize that a healthy future depends increasingly on
robust digital infrastructure, based on cutting-edge technology
that can connect residents and businesses alike in a friendly,
accessible way. Our partnership with LQD will accomplish all of
these goals."
New Rochelle City Manager
Charles B. Strome, III. said: "These
attractive kiosks will invite residents and visitors to engage with
our city, for everything from parks, cultural events and local
businesses, to job opportunities and emergency messaging, and they
will connect with the world around them through high-speed public
Wi-Fi."
Verizon has developed an array of connected solutions including
intelligent parking, lighting, traffic management and security
that improve livability, resiliency and public safety for local
communities. LQD's assets will be integrated with the market-
leading smart community infrastructure from Sensity Systems, which
Verizon acquired last month. Verizon's Smart Communities
organization, which is a part of its IoT business, is also
simplifying the creation of IoT applications through its ThingSpace
platform.
About LQD WiFi
LQD WiFi provides Palo unified
technology hubs, which are street-smart kiosks, providing essential
information like local community information, wayfinding, public
safety announcements, transit updates, and upcoming events to
citizens on the street. Palo also provides free public wi-fi,
security cameras, emergency calling, and area lighting which
further add value to communities. The company's mission is to
enable more connected, better informed and safer communities. LQD's
technology encourages people to interact with their community and
with each other, governments to connect with their constituents and
neighborhood businesses and economies to thrive by fostering local
innovation and opportunity. For more information, please visit
www.lqdwifi.com.
About Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE,
Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York
City, has a diverse workforce of 162,000 and generated
nearly $132 billion in 2015 revenues.
Verizon operates America's most reliable wireless network, with
113.7 million retail connections nationwide. The company also
provides communications and entertainment services over mobile
broadband and the nation's premier all-fiber network, and delivers
integrated business solutions to customers worldwide.
VERIZON'S ONLINE MEDIA CENTER: News releases, media contacts and
other resources are available at www.verizon.com/about/news/. News
releases are also available through an RSS feed. To subscribe,
visit www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds/.
Media contacts:
Marie
McGehee
Verizon
908.229.1894
marie.mcgehee@verizon.com
Bella Perrone
LQD WiFi
415-712-5843
bella@lqdwifi.com
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SOURCE Verizon