Everyone’s favorite (or not) cable, internet and telephone provider, Comcast, could soon be handling your cell service, too.
Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, reports that Comcast is inching closer to introducing its own wireless service by reselling Verizon’s wireless service that it acquired back in 2012.
As part of that deal, in which Comcast and other cable companies sold spectrum licenses to Verizon for $3.6 billion, the cable company secured the rights to resell Verizon’s wireless services.
If Comcast’s plans move forward, the company would offer a hybrid cellular and WiFi service using Verizon’s network and hotspots, Bloomberg reports.
Verizon CFO Fran Shammo confirmed that the company had been informed by unnamed cable companies of the plans.
“Obviously, the industry is moving,” Shammo said. “Cable is going to do what they’re going to do, and we’re going to do what we’re going to do.”
A spokesperson for Comcast declined to provide comment on the issue.
Analysts tell Bloomberg that if Comcast has indeed notified Verizon of its intention to resell wireless services, it could start as soon as six months from now.
Because the network has already been built, Jonathan Chaplin, an analyst with New Street Research LLC, says the consumer cost for the service could start at $25 to $30 per month.
Comcast Said to Be Planning Wireless Push With Verizon’s Network [Bloomberg]
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist