Forget cord cutting, the biggest threat to cable could be coming from old fashioned telco and satellite competitors--Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and DirecTV (Nasdaq: DTV)--according to an exclusive story in the ever-dependable Broadband Reports.
According to the story, the two sometimes allies have apparently allied again in an LTE trial that includes, among other things, DirecTV installers and an outside antenna that appears to be something that LTR would use. A user in the Verizon trial reported speed tests that showed "downstream speeds of 27 Mbps and upstream speeds of 5 Mbps" that are "certainly in range of what LTE is capable of."
While DirecTV apparently did not respond to queries about the report and Verizon offered up the typical "no comment," it can be fairly speculated that the two are up to something again. Verizon has pulled back on future FiOS deployments but still has to do something about its antiquated (and slow) DSL networks. DirecTV, meanwhile, has had a bear of a time adding any sort of data service to its video package. The two have collaborated in the past on pricing and packaging for areas where FiOS is unavailable so, a future collaboration with a wireless element is both logical and threatening to cable.
For more:
- Broadband Reports has this story
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