Your TV provider may soon become your phone company. Which seems only fair, because your phone company also wants to be your TV provider.
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In the next few months, cable giant Comcast will start selling wireless service, just as ATT and Verizon already do. Charter, the No. 2 cable company, also has a mobile plan. Meanwhile, the largest wireless carriers — ATT and Verizon — have launched digital TV services.
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The wireless companies are also developing a faster, more reliable version of the mobile internet that could compete with cable’s broadband.
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In Europe, it’s increasingly common for consumers to get home internet, mobile service and TV from the same provider, and the U.S. may be heading the same way, helped along by big mergers. Wall Street analysts are already analyzing potential deals, assuming that the Trump administration will be more open to big acquisitions even in industries with just a few dominant companies.
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This process would spool out over several years, if it happens at all. Cable companies probably won’t have much impact on the wireless business until after 2020, MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett wrote in a note back in September. The new wireless standard, called 5G, may also emerge widely around then.
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If new services work well, it could mean more competition and lower bills for consumers. But mergers could drive prices higher. Broadband providers could also try to steer consumers to their own apps and services, disadvantaging rivals and ultimately limiting consumer choice.
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The Phone Company Already Does Video
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ATT’s moves are pressuring Big Cable to act, says JPMorgan analyst Philip Cusick. ATT offers DirecTV and cellphone broadband nationwide and wants to buy Time Warner, the owner of CNN, HBO, TBS and Warner Bros.
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Its new mobile-focused online-cable equivalent, DirecTV Now , could steal cable customers if the bugs get worked out . And ATT promotes…