Verizon Buys Zoom Rival BlueJeans

Verizon announced on Thursday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire videoconferencing and event platform BlueJeans Network. The companies did not announce the terms of the deal in a press release, but The Wall Street Journal reports that Verizon will pay less than $500 million for the company, which has some 15,000 business clients.

The move comes as rival videoconferencing app Zoom has soared in popularity as more people work from home. But Zoom has been faced with continued security issues, including widespread instances of “Zoombombing,” where uninvited guests crash a Zoom meeting. It updated its iOS app late last month to remove code that sent device data to Facebook. Zoom also had to rewrite parts of its privacy policy after it was discovered that users’ personal information could be used to target ads.

Unlike Zoom and Microsoft’s Skype video calling service, BlueJeans doesn’t have a free version and is primarily aimed at business users, the Journal notes.

“BlueJeans will be deeply integrated into Verizon’s 5G product roadmap, providing secure and real-time engagement solutions for high growth areas such as telemedicine, distance learning and field service work,” Verizon said in a statement announcing the deal.

Full Content: Wall Street Journal

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