In a deal finalized late last week, Verizon agreed to pay $3.6 billion to cable companies Comcast, Time Warner, and Bright House Networks for access to their unused cell phone airwaves. As part of the agreement, the companies will also begin to market themselves together—a merger of sorts, without the actual formalities and complexities.
For instance, a Time Warner customer will soon be able to add Verizon’s wireless services to their existing cable bill and vice versa, an arrangement that seems every bit an antitrust concern, as each party has now sworn off encroaching upon the others’ territories. FiOS, Verizon’s high-speed cable service, seems the only likely casualty.
Though it isn’t yet clear how the deal will affect content, one would have to assume that Comcast and Time Warner could soon be delivering channels to Verizon devices.
[via Washington Post]
