Verizon CEO: 4G can be a 'substitute' for home internet and cable, will accelerate cord cutting
Sometimes, you have to wonder if these CEO types are being paid the big bucks just because they can believe their own outlandish claims. Latest to try and push the boundaries of credulity is Verizon's Ivan Seidenberg, who told an investor conference that he sees the company's newly unveiled 4G offering as becoming a "modest substitute" for premium home entertainment services as offered by cable and online streaming companies. He concedes that for now VZW's new LTE network will be viewed as an addition, rather than a replacement, to our connected world, but, over time, Seidenberg expects that its presence will be enough to convince more people to cut the cord. Perhaps those who'll find the $50 per 5GB levy easiest to swallow will be people with no cord at all -- the folks in rural areas for whom wired broadband isn't yet an option. As to the rest of us, we'll just wait until the economics start to look a tiny bit more appealing.
Update: Speaking of economics, Fierce Wireless has another disclosure from the same conference. On the topic of LTE smartphone plans, Ivan said Verizon is still undecided on pricing, but he sees 10GB a month as the "floor of what people will do," going on to say that Verizon must "hold firm as best we can until the entire environment is mature enough." Listen to the webcast of his speech at the link below.
