Fergie's Tech Blog

Telco TV Is Coming. So What?

Via Red Herring.

“Big Ed,” AT&T’s lanky CEO, has been busy. Not only has Mr. Whitacre been under a hailstorm over his comments that content providers like Google should pay extra fees for bandwidth, but now the government’s phone-spying news has come up, with AT&T a prime target for public scrutiny.

Given the circumstances, it might not be the best time for the carrier to launch its much-touted TV services. Then again, the $44-billion telecom operator, the largest in the United States, is no stranger to controversy in its 80-year-old lifetime.

On Friday, AT&T said that starting June, it would extend its IP-based video services to 15 to 20 markets by the end of this year. The push comes after the San Antonio-based company—the new AT&T is the old SBC—launched a video trial in December 2005 on its home turf.

And AT&T isn’t the only telco to take the video plunge. Verizon is already pushing its video services in 50 communities in seven states, according to spokesperson Bob Elek. Verizon announced Friday it was making its video service available to 60,000 Tampa, Florida, residents. But how many of those will actually subscribe is another question, and that’s a major distinction.

posted by Fergie @ 5/19/2006 03:53:00 PM