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Sky's Now TV Combo packages go on sale
What began as a way for consumers to access Sky's premium TV content without signing a contract has now become a much wider ecosystem of subscription-free services. The Now TV Combo, announced just over a week ago, offers a mix-and-match approach to pay TV, broadband and phone landlines. And as of today, it's now available for public consumption. A new Now TV box developed by Roku, which adds support for linear Freeview channels, remains at the heart of the proposition and can be purchased outright for £40. On top of that, you can also buy Now TV passes to access Sky's entertainment, movies, sports and kids channels, as well as their on-demand libraries.
Comcast job ad hints at wireless ambitions
There's not much you can learn from a Comcast job ad, but that won't prevent speculation about its entry into the mobile business. The company has posted an advert asking for warm bodies executives to lead the company's push into the "wireless ecosystem." According to the pitch to would-be employees, the job centers around making Kabletown's existing triple-play offerings more mobile friendly, as well as evaluating "potential entries into the wireless ecosystem." Comcast may already have an MVNO agreement with Verizon and Sprint, but FierceCable feels that it's at least plausible that its long-rumored WiFi calling service may finally be coming.
DirecTV to offer broadband to the boonies, teams up with ViaSat and Hughes Satellite providers
Sure, living in the boonies may give you plenty of space to test out high-tech farming equipment, but at what cost? Rural homesteads just aren't suited for ye olde landline broadband and those fancy satellite setups cost a pretty penny. DirecTV understands, and has struck deals with ViaSat and Hughes to bundle their stellar bandwidth with pre-existing triple play packages to help reign in the cost of high-speed internet. Details on availability and price are still scarce, but DirecTV says customers should be able to take advantage of "certain special offers" later this year. Read on for the official press release, or check out our review of ViaSat's Exede service here.
Time Warner and Verizon begin selling bundled packages just to annoy regulators
Verizon's special relationship with the cable houses deepened yesterday as it started to sell bundled mobile and land-line packages with Time Warner Cable, like it does with Comcast. Residents in various parts of Ohio, Kansas City and Raleigh, North Carolina can sign up and receive a $200 prepaid debit card as a reward for their custom. However, the partnership is raising regulatory concerns about Big Red's business practices, with the Justice Department weighing up if they're anti-competitive. Worse still, the FCC has yet to ratify that $3.6 billion spectrum deal, meaning that both parties could still be off to the tailors to be fitted for a federal lawsuit.
Comcast's iPhone app gains caller ID capability for triple play customers
Comcast's mobile app for iPhone and iPod touch customers got boosted to version 2.5 in the past few days, bringing with it a handful of tweaks that seems to justify the 0.5 increment. Most notably, the app can now push you a notification when you get a call on your Comcast-provided phone line, but you've also got support for landscape viewing of TV listings (a useful feature, we'd reckon) along with Comcast's Universal ID for unifying logins regardless of which of the company's services you subscribe to. The update is available now; follow the break for the official demo of caller ID notifications in action.
Verizon unveils new FiOS bundles with symmetrical 35Mbps pipes, heftier ETFs
As expected, Verizon is rolling out a new line of FiOS bundles for this perennially broadband-starved nation, and bumping up its early termination fees in the process. The traditional ETF for the installation-heavy service has been at $179, but now it's rocketing to as high as $360 to break from these fur-lined shackles. The new bundles of course don't skimp on the goodies, particularly with the 35Mbps up / 35Mbps down symmetrical service that should be a boon to HD video chats, big torrents and medium-sized torrents. For a limited time you can get into the "Prime" triple-play bundle (TV, internet, phone) for $90 a month, though that price will bump up to $110 a month after a year. Sweet enough to calm your fears about a $360 early cancellation penalty? Verizon sure seems to hope so -- no matter what sort of condescending looks the FCC shoots its way.
DirecTV replaces DISH as AT&T's BFF, Advanced TV partner
The AT&T / DISH Network breakup is official, with DirecTV satellite service sliding into place alongside U-Verse as a triple-play option for customers beginning January 31, 2009. No word whether AT&T plans to scale back the scope of these partnership deals as it continues to expand U-Verse, but with the big guys' love for bundling we wouldn't be surprised to see the same game of musical chairs going on all next year as well.[Image courtesy GiftsByExpressions]
Carrier bundles get investigated, prices made clear
Piecing together a programming, internet and digital phone package (or any mixture of the three) can be a real headache. Granted, many consumers only have one or two choices outside of satellite, but even choosing between those few can be a daunting task. Electronic House has taken the time to put together a number of easy to read charts that explain how much the average user will be billed for depending on which services they choose. Of course, we'd highly recommend lobbying your CSR for discounts (promotional or otherwise) before paying the full tab, but the writeup in the read link is a great place to get your bearings.
Comcast offering a free Wii to new 'Triple Play' subscribers
We've seen our fair share of subscription-dependent giveaways in the past in the form of Eee PC's and even the rare PS3 offer -- but handing out a Wii with cable service strikes us as somewhat notable. According to an offer from Comcast, newcomers to the company's "Triple Play" of digital cable, VOIP service, and high-speed internet will also be able to bag an honest-to-goodness Nintendo Wii on their way out the door. Sure, you've got to sign a two-year contract (à la mobile telco policy), but you'll also walk away with a console that still can't be found on a lot of store shelves. Does this signal the ultimate dilution of the Wii into a ubiquitous and truly casual mainstay, or does it simply suggest Comcast and the big N had a sweet -- and likely limited -- deal? Only the suits know for sure.
AT&T and DISH Network's marketing deal changes status to "it's complicated"
AT&T and DISH's tumultuous relationship seems to be ending, with the satellite company filing an 8-K form with the SEC indicating its received notice from the telco that it plans to end their marketing collaboration as of December 31. The possibly ill-fated from the beginning arrangement hasn't necessarily gone beyond the point of no return, since AT&T reps have indicated this was simply necessary for a six-month notification, but the company is still "discussing options" with DISH. Multichannel News contacted DirecTV and they indicated they too, are also still negotiating with AT&T in a bid to market triple-play services in areas where it hasn't rolled out U-Verse service yet. At this point we're expecting a drunken teary phone call from one or both (or all three) parties wondering where things went wrong any minute now.Read - ReutersRead - Light ReadingRead - Multichannel News[Image courtesy GiftsByExpressions]
AT&T picks DISH as new best friend
The sometimes funny relationship between AT&T, DISH and DirecTV reminds us of pesky fourth grade decisions of the "who's your one, bestest friend?" variety. The makeups and breakups even have the same air of fickleness, too. AT&T has officially phased out its reselling of DirecTV for 2008, but is keeping its relationship with DISH. Don't get comfy, though -- mum's the word on AT&T's plans for 2009. The move makes DISH the exclusive satellite provider for AT&T's primary markets. Like all biz relationships, this one's all about convenience (and prior commitments); it's safe to assume that if AT&T is able to execute its 2008 plans for U-verse it will scale back ties to competitor's products. But, the "triple play" package is an asset that we don't expect AT&T to jeopardize, even if it makes for uneasy friends.[Image courtesy GiftsByExpressions]
Ambit Broadband's Channel Bonding cable modem does 144Mbps / 30Mbps
Questions surrounding cable's ability to keep up with the big boys have been circulating for what feels like ages, but an intriguing new product from the labs of Ambit Broadband has some fairly substantial numbers to go along with it. The firm's Channel Bonding cable model will be available exclusively to subscribers of Hanaro, and by partnering with Netwave, the device will enable "triple play service" consisting of VoIP, IPTV, and high-speed internet. More interesting, however, is the reported maximum speeds that this thing can handle, as it boasts the "capability to bond three downstream channels to enable a maximum 144Mbps downstream and up to 30Mbps upstream." The modem also supports the usual interfaces such as gigabit Ethernet and USB 2.0, but it supposedly comes pre-ready for DOCSIS 3.0 and IPv6 -- you know, the protocols used to shatter the Internet2 transmission record. While it may all sound a bit sensational at the moment, the truth shall be unveiled when Ambit / Netwave delivers 150,000 of said modems to Hanaro "during Q2" of this year.
Cisco patents the "Triple Play"
If you haven't heard of a Triple Play yet -- you know, where some service provider tries to shove TV, internet and phone service onto one pretty little contract for supposed cost savings and convenience to you -- then we applaud you for your apparent skill at avoiding the incessant advertising of such services from the major media companies. Unfortunately, it seems the US Patent Office possesses just such a skill, since they've granted a patent to Cisco Technology for the concept of "providing integrated voice, video, and data content in an integrated service." Now, Cisco did apply for this patent way back in 2000, before the idea had quite gotten so pervasive, but we're still a bit miffed that something this common-sensical can be patented at all. No word yet on what Cisco plans to do with the patent, but there are a whole lot of "infringing" services out there that they could potentially go after if the mood strikes. Luckily, Cisco has some pretty neat ideas of their own for a Triple Play network offering listed in the patent, so we'll remain cautiously optimistic -- safe underground, of course, in our tin-foil shielded bunker.[Via Slashdot]
