Should cable companies go wireless? |

Should cable companies go wireless?

March 26th, 2008 | by geo |

I read today that two leading U.S. cable companies, Comcast and Time Warner, are teaming up with wireless operator Sprint-Nextel to offer mobile high speed data services (Using WiMax). This of course directly competes with the mobile carriers already offering these services (i.e. at&t, verizon), who are also encroaching on the cable companies’ content distribution space.

Here is my question. Why build a “me too” wireless network in a market where wireless is already dominated by three major players, and each views this space as the next revenue growth generator? Why team up with one operator, Sprint, that is going down in flames, to push your content? With network neutrality users will be able to access content from any network or device, so what is the rush to lock in with Sprint to invest in wireless?

I am a third party looking at this from the outside, and there is a lot I don’t know. But, if I were a cable company worried about protecting my content and distribution, I would focus on the software in the cloud to make it accessible via ANY DEVICE and ANY NETWORK. Let at&t and the others build out the high speed data network required to view it via mobile. Wi-Fi and broadband are already readily available for easy access to content at home. I would have more focus on software and services that enhance the consumption experience vs. trying to build a wireless network at this point in time. Sites like hulu (owned by NBC and FOX) and Joost are a great example of where to start.

In the end, I’d like to see my cable box (which will become a computer) sync up with my services in the cloud that will allow me to watch my local news, movies etc.. from any TV, computer, or mobile device on any network depending on where I am in the world at any given time. That should be the goal of the cable companies, not owning the wireless network and subscriber. A combination of Sling Media and Hulu “cloud content” services is what’s needed to own the future.

Sphere: Related Content

One Response to “Should cable companies go wireless?”
By Bert Latamore on Mar 27, 2008 | Reply

George,

I agree. Furthermore, I do not see wireless as an effective competitor for cable for delivery of content to fixed locations. I use high speed internet over cable, and the difference in cost between that and Internet access via a wireless carrier is in the orders of magnitude range.

Where wireless becomes important is when you are on the road and need access. For most people that means smart phone and is focused on alpha-numeric communication — email and SMS/chat — with a limited amount of browsing and photo upload and download. That is very different from how most of us use the Internet in fixed locations. For instance, if someone sent me a large attached file, say a video, and I happened to receive it while out on the road I would almost always delay downloading it until I could get back to my high speed connection (or at the least find a free WiFi hot spot where I could use my laptop rather than a smart phone or PDA).

So I am rather mystified about this deal. I think the people who are really threatened are the traditional telcos. They are in a very bad position in general. VoIP is a huge threat to their traditional business since it delivers quality voice at a tiny fraction of their huge cost structure. In many areas they cannot begin to compete in data delivery speed with cable. And they are just as tethered to specific locations as cable, so they don’t have the roaming advantage of cellular.

Bert