Verizon announced it is to close video conferencing service BlueJeans three years after spending $400 million on the platform which was pushed as a way to boost its enterprise communications business.

In an announcement sent to Mobile World Live, the US operator stated it had opted to ditch its suite of BlueJeans services due to a changing market landscape.

Verizon made its move for the video conferencing company during the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic in 2020, noting at the time collaboration tools had risen to the top of the agenda for businesses of all sizes due to a shift to remote work.

It, however, faced competition from some arguably bigger players, including Zoom and Google Hangouts, with the former one of the most widely-used apps during the height of the pandemic.

The timing of Verizon’s apparent decision to call time on BlueJeans is surprising given it only recently introduced a free basic plan and expanded its partner programme.

Verizon Business also touted the platform’s credentials heavily at the launch of its new London 5G Innovation Hub in June, hosting a presentation about new features it was developing for the service.

The actual hub itself also has a multi-camera set-up integrated with the video conferencing app to connect customer teams across the world, as well as support live events.

TechCrunch reported basic and free trial users will be the first to lose their services, starting on 31 August.

Paid services will run until at least December.