Comments on: Cablevision’s Machiavellian Move

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Sun, 21 May 2006 13:47:32 +0000

I actually worked on this biz model while working at CVC. This part of the analysis while correct leads to an incorrect hypothesis provided in the main blog.

The NY DMA is THE premiere DMA -- most wealthy demographic. I have looked at VoIP addoption at all 700 zip level and HH income is 25-35% higher than the national average.

Secondly people just do not out of nowhere become friends with people in foreign countries. You may have some friends/family in China but probably not a lot. Call volume will go up but it will not lead to unprofitability unless for some reason there are a lot of "immagrants" that are friends with folks in Cuba which has the HIGHEST termination fee.

So yes this is ALL ABOUT VERIZON. And its aim is PR, I think they did a good job. Initially the plan was to be UNLIMTED worlwide minutes but I could not find a way to make it profitable -- too much risk.

By: DG Lewis

DG Lewis — Fri, 19 May 2006 17:23:35 +0000

Rounding up to the nearest minute is pretty much standard practice for consumer LD. Six-second increment billing (often with an 18-second minimum increment) is usually only offered for business LD.

That aside, this has the potential to do to ILD what Digital OneRate did to domestic LD - crash the prices through the floor.

By: George Chuang

George Chuang — Fri, 19 May 2006 11:45:03 +0000

Love the price war. The ultimate winners are the consumers. I see Verizon folding and ceding to Cablevision on this one. Instead they go after in certain geographic markets (like Long Island) with their video offering and hit Cablevision at where it will really hurt - its core business of offering video at wildly expensive monopolistic prices.

By: paul

paul — Thu, 18 May 2006 18:10:42 +0000

A price war is as American as you can get.

Cablevision is in Long Island and now Verizon is bringing fiber to our homes.

By: skibare

skibare — Thu, 18 May 2006 13:29:50 +0000

Wall Street Journal smashing VONAGE today…Cablevision putting the screws to Verizon today======I declare all out Global Nuclear Voip war has begun=====Weapons of Mass Dialing have been flashed!
skibare

By: Andrew Schmitt

Andrew Schmitt — Thu, 18 May 2006 12:16:29 +0000

This is just frothy marketing. Pay $4 a month to Verizon and calls get heavily discounted.

The only thing that matters is which company can compete more effectively once you whittle residential landline caling margins down to zero. That company is Verizon.

By: Emre Sokullu

Emre Sokullu — Thu, 18 May 2006 06:51:00 +0000

helped me, may help you: (link)

By: Om Malik

Om Malik — Thu, 18 May 2006 06:50:28 +0000

oh i am just a humble chronicler of events. who knows and who wins. just enjoy the sound of cracking bones.

By: Gerald Buckley

Gerald Buckley — Thu, 18 May 2006 06:11:00 +0000

You see Apple and Creative Labs duking it out the same way over MP3’s… Hu’s going for broke at Creative.

Who runs out of oxygen first in the leviathan wars? What’s your call?