This is major. From the Washington Post of 2 Dec 2011:
Quote:
Verizon Wireless makes marketing, airwave deal with three cable companies
Under the deal announced Friday, Verizon will pay $3.6 billion to Comcast, Time Warner and Brightline Cable to use a swath of cellphone airwaves that the cable giants own but do not use. That would cement Verizon's status as the dominant wireless carrier and give it access to valuable spectrum at a time when its primary rival "AT&T" is struggling to expand its network through a controversial proposed merger with T-Mobile.
But perhaps the most extraordinary aspect of the deal is its cooperative marketing arrangement that calls for the cable companies and Verizon to "become agents to sell one another's products." ...
The cable companies would essentially kill plans to move into the cellular industry. Meanwhile, Verizon would promote the cable companies even where it offers its fledgling cable and home Internet service known as FiOS.
... some antitrust experts are worried about deal. They are especially concerned that Verizon - in its push to dominate wireless services and its new obligation to promote other cable companies - will lose interest in FiOS altogether. That business has about 14 percent of U.S. households, but it has been expensive to build.
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