Cable giant Time Warner is said to be in talks with Sprint to provide cell phone service to its cable customers. The deal would make Time Warner the only major cable company to offer wireless service as part of its "bundle" of offerings.
Telephone and cable companies have been in a race to provide a quadruple play -- telephone, television, wireless and high-speed Internet service. The theory is that customers who get all four services from a single company on a single monthly bill will be much less likely to switch to another provider.
Verizon, SBC and BellSouth all provide telephone, wireless and Internet service but, except for scattered local-market tests, must rely on satellite to fill the television part of the package.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Time Warner is close to finalizing a deal with Sprint, though neither company would publicly confirm that. Time Warner would initially test the service in Kansas City, probably in early 2005, before rolling it out to its other markets.
Time Warner has already made itself into a major player in the local telephone business, which it now provides in all 31 of its major markets, with about 200,000 telephone subscribers expected by year`s end. The company has 11 million cable subscribers.
It`s expected that Time Warner will put its brand name on the cell phone service, with Sprint providing the underlying network. Sprint has similar deals with ESPN and Virgin Mobile, among others.
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29.12.2004
Time Warner Cable Plans Cell Phone Service
Cable giant Time Warner is said to be in talks with Sprint to provide cell phone service to its cable customers. The deal would make Time Warner the only major cable company to offer wireless service as part of its "bundle" of offerings. Telephone and cable... |
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04.10.2004
Time Warner Rolls Out Internet Phone Service in NY, NJ
Time Warner Cable is taking aim at Verizon`s biggest market, rolling out Internet telephone service, or VOIP, in the New York and New Jersey area. During the initial launch, the service is being offered to employees and selected customers. The service will cost... |
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28.04.2005
Odds of Finding the Best Cell Phone Service Worse than Roulette
Looking for the best deal on a cell phone? Good luck. A new study finds that your odds of winning at roulette are better than finding the best cell phone carrier. UC Irvine business school professor Peter Navarro conducted the study, which concluded that consumers... |
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19.05.2005
NY Wrings Concessions from Time Warner Cable
The state of New York has reached an agreement with Time Warner Cable, Inc. to change its disclosures about the terms and conditions of promotional rates for its residential high-speed Internet, cable and digital phone services. The company also will ensure that rates... |
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03.11.2005
Cable Companies Preparing Cell Phone Entry
Just as Verizon and SBC are completing their acquisitions of MCI and AT&T, a consortium of giant cable companies are getting into the wireless business, adding a new competitive element to the telco-cable wars.A consortium of cable companies, including Comcast,... |
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