Archive

OPINION

Can Cable TV Survive the 5G Wireless Threat?

Traditional cable TV providers will face a big competitive threat in the next decade from the Internet, IPTV and 5G wireless. Cable TV typically lands at the bottom in customer satisfaction surveys. That means there is both plenty of room for improvement and plenty of room for new competitors and ne...

OPINION

Plot Thickens With Dish’s Interest in Sprint, T-Mobile Wireless

The T-Mobile-Sprint merger has been dragging on for quite a long time, but it finally may be in the home stretch. To get the deal approved, Sprint and T-Mobile might have to sell off some of their wireless assets, and many were surprised by Dish Network's interest. What would this mean for the merge...

YouTube TV Hits Screens Across Most of the US

YouTube TV will be rolling out to an additional 95 markets in the U.S., almost doubling its coverage. The streaming video service already covers the top 100 markets in the country, and the expansion will enable it to reach more than 98 percent of households in the U.S., YouTube said. The rest will f...

ANALYST CORNER

Cable One’s Bright Sparklight Idea

The cable TV industry has been changing over the last decade and lately has been penetrating the wireless space. Brands like Xfinity Mobile, Spectrum Mobile and Altice Mobile have emerged. Cable One, a smaller cable television company, has announced its new brand, Sparklight. Could this be its first...

ANALYST CORNER

The Wireless Industry’s Two-Horse Race

There has been a lot of noise in the wireless industry in the last few years. Between the competition among existing wireless carriers and the challenges of new players, the industry has been growing and transforming. However, despite all the chaos, one thing has remained unchanged: Verizon Wireless...

ANALYST CORNER

Charter Spectrum May Want to Rethink Its Digital Pay-TV Service

Cable television companies have been rushing to introduce new digital pay-TV products. Traditional cable TV has been on the decline in the midst of a growing wave of new competition and new technologies. The new offerings reflect forward thinking and are a step in the right direction, but too many p...

CUSTOMER SERVICE BREAKDOWN

Resist: Don’t Sign That AT&T Contract

This is a call for resistance that has nothing to do with politics. It's coming from someone who unwittingly walked into a virtual jail cell that was disguised as a DirecTV contract. I'll be behind bars for another 23 months, and I'm counting the days. Please don't take this as a rant or as an attem...

ANALYSIS

Top 5 Data-Driven Mobile Services for a Competitive Edge

The mobile data market has been approaching saturation in major industrialized nations. Mobile data consumption has increased steadily over the past several years, but consumers have found new ways to avoid paying extra for services they don't need or use -- and intense competition among mobile carr...

Amazon Denies Rumored Plans for Ad-Supported Prime Video Service

Amazon has denied a report that it has been working on a free, ad-supported video platform to complement its subscription-based Amazon Prime Video service. Amazon has been in talks with various television networks, movie studios and other media entities about providing content to the site, according...

ANALYSIS

Evolution of the 4th Utility: Fixed Broadband

In-home broadband has become "the fourth utility" in United States households, many of which have multiple connected devices and viewing screens. More than 85 percent of U.S. homes have broadband service, according to Parks Associates, 93 percent of those have DSL, fiber or cable high-speed, fixed-l...

ANALYST CORNER

Netflix Climbs the Growth Wave as Cable TV Slides

Things change quickly. A few short years ago, Netflix was nothing more than a mail order video rental business. Since then, it has been growing rapidly and changing. Believe it or not, Netflix today has more U.S. subscribers than cable TV. That's an amazing accomplishment -- and a major hit to tradi...

Verizon Makes New Oath

Verizon last week completed its US$4.5 billion acquisition of Yahoo's operating business assets, merging it with its existing AOL business to create Oath. The new subsidiary encompasses more than 50 media and technology brands -- including HuffPost; Yahoo Sports, Finance and Mail; AOL.com; Makers; T...

Alphabet Jumps on the $1K-a-Share Train

Alphabet shares reached a new record high on Monday, surpassing the $1,000 benchmark just a week after Amazon accomplished the feat. Investors placed bets that Google's core search and emerging artificial intelligence technology will help maintain the company's dominance over its Silicon Valley riva...

ANALYST CORNER

Comcast Rolls the Dice With Xfinity Instant TV

Comcast has led the way in cable television ever since it acquired AT&T Broadband a decade ago. However, in recent years, new technologies -- like IPTV and wireless TV from new competitors like AT&T and DirecTV Now -- have been eating away at Comcast's growth. That's why Comcast not only has...

LinuxInsider Channels