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Report: Verizon closer to AT&T affront
There are new rumblings that Verizon Communications will go head-to-head against AT&T in North Texas as some industry observers have been predicting. Light Reading has a story claiming Verizon will offer FiOS in some neighborhoods currently served by AT&T, possibly as soon as next month, but at this point it doesn't seem that Verizon has announced anything official. The carrier has a statewide video franchise in Texas which it uses to serve customers in markets it acquired as part of the acquisition of GTE, and much has previously been made of its FiOS build-out in those areas, though Verizon has denied a move into new markets before. The LR story suggests that it is now ready to stretch into new markets.
If it happens, much will be made of the telco-on-telco action, though as a broader competitive policy, it doesn't seem like Verizon and AT&T competing with one another would be good for either of them. Still, as industry folks increasingly say, everyone's a competitor (and maybe a partner, too).
For more:
- Light Reading has this report
Related articles
AT&T and Verizon may compete, but don't call them rivals
Verizon amended its Texas video franchise last year
Comments
Posted by WilliamC | January 15, 2009 - 8:11pm
Wayne you don't get it. (They may bring competition.) What we have been saying for many moons are prices going to go down? I seriously doubt it. I live in New York's Hudson Valley. Time Warner, Dish Network, Directv and Verizon Fios tv is available in my neck of the woods. Their prices are almost the same. Gimmickry sets in for the year. When the year is up - guess what? Your bill goes up by 20 to 40 dollars. Yea they all offer a sweetheart deal. Guess what when the year is up - the price goes up and they are almost the same between the 4 different television providers. They are not fooling any body. I do not know why every one keeps saying that because Verizon enters their neighborhood with FIOS TV that prices are going to go down. This is hogwash and a misconception. My bill with DIRECTV went up last year. It doesn't matter who services my home - the bill goes up every year by five bucks or two bucks. The point is the bill goes up. Someone has to pay for those almost 200 million dollar salaries for baseball players. You guys tell me...........................
Posted by Wayne Caswell | January 14, 2009 - 3:53pm
This is not new news. OneTRAK reported the story in June. (See "Verizon (FiOS) begins overbuilding AT&T (U-verse) in Texas."
When I first heard of it, I notified my editorial contacts at Broadband Properties Magazine, saying that this news potentially changes conventional thinking about how to justify fiber overbuilds and implies that competition might eventually replace a natural fiber monopoly.
If Verizon successfully brings competition to the broadband market, it’s good news for consumers and communities, so I’ll continue watching their deployment.
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