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AT&T, TimeWarner (Warner Media) and Net Neutrality

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mrmhead On about 18 hours ago




NE, Ohio
#1New Post! Feb 26, 2019 @ 17:14:12
Court Rules ATT - TimeWarner merge OK

In this "vertical" merge, I wouldn't be too concerned if Net Neutrality laws (rules) were in place.

I believe this could open the possibility of ATT charging other cable companies (Spectrum, Comcast, WOW ...) higher rates to access the content that ATT now owns - HBO, TNT, Warner.
And you know who will foot the bill...
Leon On December 21, 2023




San Diego, California
#2New Post! Feb 26, 2019 @ 17:24:35
mrmhead On about 18 hours ago




NE, Ohio
#3New Post! Feb 26, 2019 @ 17:29:56
@Leon Said



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Darkman666 On about 17 hours ago




Saint Louis, Missouri
#4New Post! Feb 26, 2019 @ 17:39:21
last year, att gave spectrum incentive of half of trillion, because of the merge. that why spectrum has raise their prices.
Leon On December 21, 2023




San Diego, California
#5New Post! Feb 26, 2019 @ 17:55:26
@mrmhead Said

This Page Intentionally Left Blank





Lol, yes. I had more to say, but was afraid I wouldn’t be able to edit in time, as something came up.

I wasn’t clear on the line you were drawing from net neutrality to cable broadcasts, as one deals with internet content and the other deals with content directly delivered via cable lines. While I am sure one can make a connection of sorts, I’ll leave that up to you.

Regardless, my take on the merger and the future of content delivery:

Traditional live TV cable packages are slowly and inevitably going to a death. Millions are already cutting their live TV packages in favor of internet on-demand content services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and HBO Now (with more to come, namely Apple and Disney). People are less and less interested in being forced to view something live rather than view it on demand at their own convenient time, less and less interested in waiting a whole week to see episode 2 rather than viewing the next episode immediately after the end of the first one, and especially less and less interested in paying $50 per month for one or two shows or channels and hundreds of shows and channels they won’t watch rather than paying only $10-$15 a month on a more targeted list of certain favorite shows. And all this becomes more the case as younger viewers take over older viewers more used to live broadcasting.

That being said, with viewership shifting to the internet as a result (where Netflix, etc exists), net neutrality becomes more relevant. Cable companies have a stake in the internet as a service provider, so they can recoup the losses of cable cutting by raising internet broadband prices and capping data. However, with the advent of 5G just around the corner, we will soon see broadband as a thing of the past as well, since everything will eventually be able to be delivered wirelessly with equal speed. Enter competition, which will keep prices at bay.

So yes, deals could be struck between the likes of Netflix, Hulu, and wireless carriers like ATT and Verizon, but I suspect the price difference won’t be as debilitating. Huge price differences would stifle viewership for those guys, so, while HBO may offer a discount of a few dollars for customers of ATT over Verizon, I would guess it we won’t see something like $30 for Verizon customers and $10 for ATT customers unless HBO wants to see huge losses, which I am sure they don’t. And, besides, it would still beat paying $50 a month for tons of live content you have zero interest in viewing at all.
Darkman666 On about 17 hours ago




Saint Louis, Missouri
#6New Post! Feb 26, 2019 @ 18:03:04
interesting, that almost 40 years, about there were 35 cable companies, and now, two cable companies left. spectrum only surviving on their internet not by their cable's sales.
mrmhead On about 18 hours ago




NE, Ohio
#7New Post! Feb 26, 2019 @ 20:49:17
@Leon Said

I wasn’t clear on the line you were drawing from net neutrality to cable broadcasts, as one deals with internet content and the other deals with content directly delivered via cable lines. While I am sure one can make a connection of sorts, I’ll leave that up to you.


Yes, I may have been crossing the streams a bit regarding cable access, but
AT&T is an internet provider too
- so streaming access to HBO or TNT without a cable provider could be different (cost, speed, access?) depending on if your sitting on AT&T's network or Spectrum's.

And a lot of those services have On Demand features through cable as well.
Leon On December 21, 2023




San Diego, California
#8New Post! Feb 26, 2019 @ 21:07:44
@mrmhead Said

Yes, I may have been crossing the streams a bit regarding cable access, but
AT&T is an internet provider too
- so streaming access to HBO or TNT without a cable provider could be different (cost, speed, access?) depending on if your sitting on AT&T's network or Spectrum's.

And a lot of those services have On Demand features through cable as well.


If HBO (through ATT) wants to limit its customer base like that and lose millions in customer fees as a result, then that would be a very poor business decision in my opinion.

I think we will ultimately only see a difference of a few dollars a month, at worst.
Leon On December 21, 2023




San Diego, California
#9New Post! Feb 26, 2019 @ 21:08:57
@darkman666 Said

interesting, that almost 40 years, about there were 35 cable companies, and now, two cable companies left. spectrum only surviving on their internet not by their cable's sales.


Spectrum, by law, isn’t allowed to install data caps until 2022. By then nobody will care though, as 5G will be in full force.
mrmhead On about 18 hours ago




NE, Ohio
#10New Post! Feb 26, 2019 @ 23:20:25
@Leon Said

Spectrum, by law, isn’t allowed to install data caps until 2022. By then nobody will care though, as 5G will be in full force.


Sidebar - 5G:

From a tech POV, do you know what differentiates "5G", "4G" .. and whatever other designations there are?
- not asking you to explain, just if you happen to know. (I don't)
...other than marketing gems as "Faster, Better"

I thought I heard some complaints that "5G" really isn't a "tech" upgrade, as with previous jumps. I'm thinking maybe just a software/compression jump vs a protocol change? I haven't been paying attention.
mrmhead On about 18 hours ago




NE, Ohio
#11New Post! Feb 26, 2019 @ 23:28:20
@mrmhead Said

Sidebar - 5G:

From a tech POV, do you know what differentiates "5G", "4G" .. and whatever other designations there are?
- not asking you to explain, just if you happen to know. (I don't)
...other than marketing gems as "Faster, Better"

I thought I heard some complaints that "5G" really isn't a "tech" upgrade, as with previous jumps. I'm thinking maybe just a software/compression jump vs a protocol change? I haven't been paying attention.



Hey! I found this neat thing called Google, and look what it showed me!

PC Mag - 5G




(reading it now)
mrmhead On about 18 hours ago




NE, Ohio
#12New Post! Feb 26, 2019 @ 23:45:41
And this brings it back home - AT&T

That symbiosis between 4G and 5G has caused AT&T to get a little overenthusiastic about its 4G network. The carrier has started to call its 4G network "5G Evolution," because it sees improving 4G as a major step to 5G. It's right, of course. But the phrasing is designed to confuse less-informed consumers into thinking 5G Evolution is 5G, when it isn't.
Leon On December 21, 2023




San Diego, California
#13New Post! Feb 27, 2019 @ 00:44:24
@mrmhead Said

Sidebar - 5G:

From a tech POV, do you know what differentiates "5G", "4G" .. and whatever other designations there are?
- not asking you to explain, just if you happen to know. (I don't)
...other than marketing gems as "Faster, Better"

I thought I heard some complaints that "5G" really isn't a "tech" upgrade, as with previous jumps. I'm thinking maybe just a software/compression jump vs a protocol change? I haven't been paying attention.


All I know is it’s as faster than broadband, and can be delivered wirelessly of course, meaning no more regional monopolization by cable/fiber providers of high speed internet. 4G (or LTE) is fast enough for browsing, but not fast enough for streaming HD video and gaming.
Leon On December 21, 2023




San Diego, California
#14New Post! Feb 27, 2019 @ 00:48:16
@mrmhead Said

And this brings it back home - AT&T

That symbiosis between 4G and 5G has caused AT&T to get a little overenthusiastic about its 4G network. The carrier has started to call its 4G network "5G Evolution," because it sees improving 4G as a major step to 5G. It's right, of course. But the phrasing is designed to confuse less-informed consumers into thinking 5G Evolution is 5G, when it isn't.


Yes, it’s not ready for wireless usage. It still involves upgrading towers and communication systems, if not actual cable/fiber.

Verizon has it pumped direct via satellites to homes in select cities via home installed antenna boxes as a test run. But the technology hasn’t gotten widespread in any way beyond that.
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