Comcast Considering 4G Voice - Though details are all but nonexistent

Comcast Considering 4G Voice - Though details are all but nonexistent
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Comcast Considering 4G Voice
Though details are all but nonexistent
03:41PM Wednesday Sep 16 2009 by Karl Bode
tags: competition · business · alternatives · cable · VoIP · Comcast
Tipped by TKJunkMail

Comcast today announced that they hope to eventually bring both voice and mobile video services to their Mobile WiMax service, which the company launched earlier this year as part of a partnership with Clearwire. Speaking to analysts at the Goldman Sachs Communicopia conference, Comcast CFO Michael Angelakis proclaimed there are ongoing discussions about offering voice via 4G, but it's too early to announce details. Hopefully the plan goes more smoothly that the cable industry's now-defunct Pivot project. Back in 2007, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts seemed unimpressed with the idea of offering a so-called "quadruple play" of wireless, broadband, VoIP and TV -- but apparently the boss is changing his mind.

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anon @ 16th Sep 03:51PM:
who cares???????

get wireless internet and configure your own sip device that works over wifi and thats it....only the few and the dumb will subscribe to comcast voice...
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ViviTheMage @ 16th Sep 03:58PM:
hm

sure, why not ... more competetion.
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billy2 @ 16th Sep 04:17PM:
Re: hm

most definite
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en102 @ 16th Sep 04:26PM:
Re: hm

Since Comcast is in bed with Sprint/Clear, I'd expect them to use WiMAX. Unfortunately, there's few locations with it currently, and fewer handsets.
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robertg1234 @ 16th Sep 04:40PM:
AT&T-esque juggernaut taking over as usual

I'm sorry to be the one here complaining about competition, but as we are all finding out nowadays, co's like Comcast are just wanting to come in with predatory pricing, wipe the competition out, and then hold us hostage just like their cable service. Triple play has been their holy grail cash cow (no pun intended)(yeah, right) :) and with that, you're stuck with high prices for uneeded services (why need voip when you have your cell phone?). Now Quadruple play is on it's way. More hostage taking ...

One day, Judge Harold "Equal Access" Greene will rise out of his grave and come save our poor souls -- again. But of course I'm dreaming with the choke hold co's like Comcast has, and their knowing that will never happen until The Second Coming ...

btw: US vs. AT&T and the MFJ are sadly lacking in details on Wikipedia. Too bad since it's such an important milestone in U.S. telecommunications history.
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patcat88 @ 16th Sep 04:59PM:
Re: AT&T-esque juggernaut taking over as usual

said by robertg1234 :

One day, Judge Harold "Equal Access" Greene will rise out of his grave and come save our poor souls -- again. But of course I'm dreaming with the choke hold co's like Comcast has, and their knowing that will never happen until The Second Coming ...

btw: US vs. AT&T and the MFJ are sadly lacking in details on Wikipedia. Too bad since it's such an important milestone in U.S. telecommunications history.

Oh come on! Ma Bell was broken up because AT&T wanted to go into the computer industry that it was banned from. It wanted growth at all costs, even if it means tossing away your terminal profit assets. It was a SETTLEMENT not a VERDICT!!!!!

Lets pretend in the USA an ILEC isn't allowed to own any cellphone companies. Then the ILEC has some tax irregularities and someone didn't get their campaign contributions that election cycle so the DOJ starts a court case. The DOJ and the ILEC negotiate an agreement that the ILEC will sell off its last mile, and buy a cellphone provider.
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TKJunkMail @ 16th Sep 05:08PM:
Re: AT&T-esque juggernaut taking over as usual

said by robertg1234 :

btw: US vs. AT&T and the MFJ are sadly lacking in details on Wikipedia. Too bad since it's such an important milestone in U.S. telecommunications history.

Info on the breakup of AT&T & BOCS thru the Modified Final Judgment here:
»www.hill2dot0.com/wiki/index.php···Judgment
--
My BLOG .. .. Internet News .. .. My Web Page

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LeftOfSanity @ 16th Sep 05:24PM:
Re: who cares???????

said by anjorusso :

get wireless internet and configure your own sip device that works over wifi and thats it....only the few and the dumb will subscribe to comcast voice...

Right, because anyone who doesn't know what you know must be dumb. :uhh:

Feel better now?
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iansltx @ 16th Sep 05:45PM:
Re: who cares???????

And WiFi is available everywhere...not.
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Trimline @ 16th Sep 06:45PM:
Re: who cares???????

LOL. That's why I love my Nokia 63 - I have an at&t card in it, but use CallCentric for my sip.

There is nothing better than the thrill of by-passing at&t for web and phone calls when connected to a wifi. I can walk down the street and connect, and boom, I'm off and talking.

The other benefit is when I travel internationally, I just plug in to a local wifi and zoom. .0029 cents per minute is a lot better than at&t's 1.79 per minute (plus taxes) when calling from Frankfurt. :D
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tshirt @ 16th Sep 08:06PM:
"quadruple play" ?

I believe that's pronounced "foreplay".
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emac321 @ 16th Sep 09:28PM:
I agree, cable will need a something to match telco lte

While the previous Pivot is defunct, that picture is different. There is investment involved here, Comcast holds a stake in this.

With LTE likely on the horizon as a potential telco weapon for competition, this is a big problem.

It is really important not to be wrong here; after the bottom just fell out on the 30% limit rule, carriers that offer the better package customers want can poach them off like birds picking up seeds; if packaged correctly, they cant pick up that customer for everything from video to cellphone service.

In fact, I read in previous news that bloggers seem to feel Comcast should buy out Sprint. I think its absolutely necessary for them to do something like this. While I do agree cable should merge with Sprint somehow including Clearwire as part of the deal, I think they should all get together where any cable company can come together on it & form a new consortium (ie: cable wireless alliance), basket the funds and it should take over Sprint.

Reason why is you don't want another cable company such as, like, Cablevision, turning around and saying wait, that's anticompetative for Comcast to buy out Sprint. I mean, Cablevision & Comcast, I don't think, even compete; forming some sort of consortium seems to make sense to me since most of what any cable will want to offer with a wireless/wimax provider will probably be the same thing anyway. If Comcast puts up the most, this would basically give them a large stake in it.
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