Comments on: Tough Times Ahead for U.S. Phone Companies?

By: Ma Bell and Its Vanishing Phone Lines

Ma Bell and Its Vanishing Phone Lines — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:17:07 +0000

[...] done a good job of snatching voice customers. Many, like me, have switched entirely to wireless. The down economy has only exacerbated these [...]

By: Comcast is now 3rd Largest US Phone Company

Comcast is now 3rd Largest US Phone Company — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:45:29 +0000

[...] a lot of voice connections — other cable operators such as Time Warner Cable are doing well and putting the hurt on traditional phone companies. The rising fortune of cable companies’ voice business is in sharp contrast to dedicated VoIP [...]

By: As Broadband Growth Slows, Telcos Lose Out

As Broadband Growth Slows, Telcos Lose Out — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 23:24:50 +0000

[...] subscribers anticipated in 2009, three fourths of them will choose cable. That’s certainly not good news for carriers hoping to stem landline loss (P&F estimates landlines will decline almost 16 percent next year [...]

By: @ Z YARD SALE.COM BLOG @ » Blog Archive » AT&T to layoffs is first step of reorganization

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:00:22 +0000

[...] reductions ranging anywhere from 5 percent all the way to 20 percent in some areas of the company (I bet DSL and wireline will be hardest hit). When asked about layoffs via email, AT&T spokesman Marc Bien said, “Regarding headcount, at [...]

By: Cable Continues to Beat Telcos at the Broadband Game - GigaOM

Cable Continues to Beat Telcos at the Broadband Game - GigaOM — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:42:32 +0000

[...] We’ve pointed out that cable is gaining over DSL during the last few quarters, and even wondered what the telcos would do as DSL lines fell. Before we credit cable’s fast speeds compared with DSL for its advantage, however, Bruce [...]

By: CenturyTel’s Embarq Buy May Set off Consolidation - GigaOM

CenturyTel’s Embarq Buy May Set off Consolidation - GigaOM — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:27:41 +0000

[...] purchased a tiny North Carolina carrier, and had been a suspected suitor for Embarq. Given the erosion of their core business and the grim credit markets, it’s likely that buyers with strong stock or a little cash could [...]

By: The Toybox mobile edition

The Toybox mobile edition — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:40:35 +0000

By: Survey Says…Cable Sucks - GigaOM

Survey Says…Cable Sucks - GigaOM — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 23:00:41 +0000

[...] and pricing, but thanks to their speedy broadband service, they have so far managed to score more customers than the phone companies, according to a survey out today from research firm CFI Group. The survey, which quizzed 1,318 [...]

By: Rumor: AT&T May Bid For Cable & Wireless - GigaOM

Rumor: AT&T May Bid For Cable & Wireless - GigaOM — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:57:46 +0000

[...] of $8.5 billion and sales of $6 billion. AT&T clearly needs to do something — it is losing traction in the U.S. residential market at a dangerous clip, with customers defecting to wireless or cable [...]

By: For Qwest, FTTN Not An Option, Necessity - GigaOM

For Qwest, FTTN Not An Option, Necessity - GigaOM — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:29:31 +0000

[...] of things. All these moves, including FTTN are optional for Qwest; they’re a necessity. The economic downturn and current demographic shifts are impacting the company drastically. For the second quarter of 2008, look at the numbers that [...]

By: Embarq Cuts Jobs. More Trouble Ahead For Telcos - GigaOM

Embarq Cuts Jobs. More Trouble Ahead For Telcos - GigaOM — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:43:13 +0000

[...] is the latest pointer to the continuing troubles of U.S. telecom carriers, as I outlined in an earlier essay. Embarq’s problems are not unique. Several smaller players are facing tough times. In [...]

By: John Thacker

John Thacker — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 18:38:51 +0000

I have to say I was persuaded by the article, then confused by the graph at the end of it. The graph, sans numbers, seems to clearly show phone company net broadband adds beating cable company net broadband adds. Of course, that wouldn’t vitiate the existing argument; even if the phone companies are slightly catching up in broadband, the cable cos could be doing much better at voice than the phone companies at video.

Cannibalization of DSL by FIOS is not entirely bad for Verizon, either. Their revenue per customer is higher on FIOS, after all.

By: Even Moms Love Mobile Data Cards - GigaOM

Even Moms Love Mobile Data Cards - GigaOM — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:56:43 +0000

[...] phone companies the prospect of being cannibalized by wireless data connections must be scarier than losing them voice connections. No wonder they started to limit bandwidth transfers on their [...]

By: Who Wins: Verizon FiOS vs AT&T U-Verse - GigaOM

Who Wins: Verizon FiOS vs AT&T U-Verse - GigaOM — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:05:31 +0000

[...] My view is that all US phone companies are all in trouble, because of major shifts that are going on in the industry. Verizon, with FiOS at least has an offering that addresses the needs of the future broadband users. Whether they make money on it, who knows. [...]

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:12:36 +0000

Excellent article. Cable has been more proactive about building out their networks than the phone companies. I lived is a small town in south Texas and Time Warner beat Verizon into the area by several years. The phone company must get proactive and start moving into areas that aren’t so lucrative. There is something to be said for being first in an area. The only other challenge is to provide top notch product and support. This would help stem the tide in my opinion.

By: Willi

Willi — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:16:59 +0000

Good points & well researched Om!

And I fully see that they shall stick to increase bandwidth as you mentioned.

However, I would like to add, that they shall stop spending money on IP based applications that look like phone systems which they do not now to build anyhow. This generates stranded cost that shall rather be spent on the buildout of their last mile. These are the only assets they really have and they can really handle this turf.

And to Allens comment, They need to make the transition to fiber networks anyhow if they will become MSOs which is essential for competing with the cable operators, support cloud computing and other things like feeding TV & Video.