BellSouth to Test Internet-Based TV Over Next Summer By DIONNE SEARCEY Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
December 7, 2005; Page B2 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113391305686715620.html?mod=technology_main_whats_news BellSouth Corp. will conduct a market test of an Internet-based television service next summer, a sign that the phone company is getting closer to rolling out video. The Atlanta company will offer the television service to 1,000 consumers in its hometown next year, Mark Feidler, president and chief operating officer, told investors at a New York conference yesterday. He stressed BellSouth hasn't made a decision to launch the television service commercially. "We still have questions about the economics," he said. The Bells see video service as helping them compete with the cable industry, which has been offering Internet-based phone services that are less expensive than traditional phone service. Cable companies provide phone service to about 4.5 million households, estimates Leichtman Research. BellSouth has lagged behind rivals in offering a homegrown video service. Verizon Communications Inc. has rolled out a fiber-based television service in a handful of markets, and AT&T Inc. is planning a "controlled launch" of its Internet-based television to a few hundred homes in its San Antonio hometown. BellSouth is using Microsoft Corp. software in television service tests with a handful of BellSouth employees. A spokesman said it would likely use the same software for its expanded trial. Earlier this year, other telephone companies testing that software experienced problems, such as getting digital video recorders to work. Verizon opted to use roughly the same technology that cable companies use, for now, because it decided that Internet technology wasn't fully ready. AT&T executives have said the software is meeting all of its targets. ================================================= George Antunes Voice (713) 743-3923 Associate Professor Fax (713) 743-3927 Political Science Internet: antunes at uh dot edu University of Houston Houston, TX 77204-3011 Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
