Verizon Telematics Launches 'Hum' Aftermarket Connected Car Service

Using a cellphone subsidy model, Verizon is bundling hum into a $14.99/month price over a two-year subscription. Meanwhile, AT&T’s model with its Voxx-built monitoring device is $10/month and consumers pay $99 for the Voxx unit with no contract required.

During a demo of a hum unit installed in a Jeep Monday in downtown New York, Michael Maddux, Verizon Telematics product director, showed us the two-piece hum unit: an onboard diagnostics reader that plugs into a vehicle’s OBD (on-board diagnostics) slot and a three-button visor that automatically pairs with the reader when installed. With hum, Verizon wants to bring connectivity to the 90 percent of vehicles on the road in the U.S. that aren't currently connected, which Verizon sees as an aftermarket opportunity of 150 million vehicles, Maddux said.

Users are guided through setup via app, and they can choose to enable a hands-free Bluetooth speakerphone with an Android or iOS device. The visor unit has three buttons to enable either a call to customer service, hands-free phone calls or a call to emergency assistance. In an emergency, pressing the button connects a caller to someone who can help or request assistance. Coverage is confined to the Verizon network, Maddux said. “We’re on Verizon’s most reliable network so if you, for whatever reason ... are out of coverage, you won’t have that service,” he said.

The plug-in module performs real-time diagnostics on the vehicle, Maddux said, saying the information gathered is “not a heavy payload” and isn't actively pinging a network. Information available to drivers includes miles per gallon, which is stored for later access, and alerts for battery level status and standard diagnostic trouble codes that users can have sent as email or text, Maddux said. Alerts include code interpretations, with the most common ones including fixes and average repair costs.

In our demo, two days before the launch of the consumer service, Maddux pressed the Bluetooth button on the visor unit to connect the vehicle to the service center, simulating a call to roadside assistance about a check engine alert. Wait time varies, he said, depending on call volume, but after no one picked up for well over two minutes, Maddux instructed a staffer to make a manual call. Our interview had started early and the call center wasn’t ready for the pre-arranged test run, he said. After five minutes, a service rep answered the roadside assistance call and asked Maddux if he required roadside assistance. He declined and she passed him on to the mechanics hotline for help with the engine light query. Fifty seconds later, a mechanic came on the line and told him the alert code was warning of a manifold intake problem that would cost $200 to $300 to repair. A spokeswoman said Verizon was in practice mode and when the service launched Wednesday “that would not be the real experience.” Roadside assistance calls are typically answered within 20 seconds, Maddux said. The red emergency button has a different path of communication, he said.

Features of the app include a parking finder that uses GPS to locate the vehicle in a parking lot, a photo feature to mark a parking location with visual cues, stolen vehicle location tracking and a tool that alerts users when a parking meter is about to expire. Verizon hopes to partner with area businesses or service companies on discounts that can be discovered via hum, and those will be shown on the app, Maddux said.

Roadside assistance can help in the case of a car breakdown where a driver needs fuel or towing, Maddux said. The reader has an accelerometer, GPS location and cellular connectivity and algorithms that can detect an accident, "triage" the situation and attempt a call to the driver’s phone to try to determine the situation -- “whether it’s a fender bender, you’ve been hurt or you’ve had a heart attack,” he said. If warranted, hum will dispatch emergency services, Maddux said.

On why a consumer should buy hum over OnStar or a similar connected car service, Maddux said, “peace of mind,” referring to hum’s ability to diagnose vehicle health and send that information to the driver right away. A check engine light notification doesn’t tell a driver anything, he said. The light could indicate something that requires pulling over and stopping the car immediately, or it could signal it's time to schedule a routine appointment in the next few weeks, he said.

Hum is the first direct-to-consumer venture for Atlanta-based Verizon Telematics, which has more than a decade of experience providing enterprise solutions for OEMs, fleet operators and insurance companies, the spokeswoman told us. On why Verizon is targeting consumers now, Maddux said Verizon research shows 73 percent of consumers want their vehicle connected. “It’s not about having connectivity for everything you can imagine,” he said. It’s about safety, peace of mind and “understanding more about your vehicle,” he said. Consumers want the same level of connectivity in their cars that they have with their smartphones, he said.

On the security of the open pathway into the vehicle and Verizon’s ability to prevent a hacker from taking control of vehicle systems, Maddux said Verizon Telematics “is very well aware of the recent news on those topics, but from the beginning, from the get-go, security has been developed throughout the system, throughout the device.” Verizon has done internal and external analysis testing “to ensure that we have a very secure and safe device,” he said. That includes the mobile app as well, the spokeswoman added. Monitoring devices is part of day-to-day work and “is not an afterthought,” Maddux said.