Verizon flubs live TV while AT&T sails higher?

Bad news if you were hoping that Verizon would beat out AT&T as the best overall communications provider. According to LightReading the company is nowhere near ready to launch a live streaming TV service, and its cable TV service is floundering.

Cable TV has been a problem for Verizon for years. Although its FIOS TV service was well regarded 5 years ago, a much-needed upgrade has yet to roll out despite being in beta test for years. The company lost TV subscribers when it sold its wireline service in California to Frontier, who do not seem interested in improving it either.

As for streaming TV, I’m confused. Verizon bought the assets of Intel’s live streaming TV project three years ago, and you would think that would have have given them a leg up on development. After all the Intel project, first shown in 2013, would have been a streaming television product that connected to your TV. All they would need to do would be adapt it to better hardware.

And let’s be honest, live streaming TV is a nut that has already been cracked. It may have been a nearly impossible option five years ago, but with AT&T, Hulu, YouTube, DISH and others already offering live streaming TV, it seems like this is a very real, very achievable goal. Verizon had essentially a three year headstart and they didn’t seem to do anything with it.

They even had a video service called “go90” that offered some live streaming video as early as 2015, but they let it die on the vine instead of expanding it out to be a true contender.

Right now, Verizon’s reps say that the reason they aren’t jumping into live streaming video is that they want to provide a unique experience, not just be a “me too” provider. Well excuse me for saying so, but providing a large package of live TV channels back in 2014, which they had the technology to do, would have made everyone else a “me too” provider. I guess they missed that opportunity, and now they can’t come up with a decent excuse to join the pack that they should have been leading.

What this all means is that if you’re looking for a real tripleplay, AT&T is really the only game in town. If they serve you with land-based internet and phone, then you can combine that with their satellite TV or streaming TV and cellular service for a one-bill experience that incorporates all sorts of discounts. Verizon just doesn’t have a TV service that you’re going to want to get into.

If you’re interested in seeing what true market leadership is all about, give the folks at Solid Signal a call. They can help you get hooked up with cellular, internet and telephone — plus live streaming video or satellite, your choice — for a great price with a single bill. One call to 888-233-7563 gets the ball rolling. That is, unless you want to wait for Verizon to figure things out for themselves…

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.