Newsletter
Google Left Banner
Comcast Lands in Sears Stores
21 Nov, 2008
Comcast and Sears announced a new relationship where Comcast products and services will be marketed and sold in 400 Sears stores. Customers will be able to buy services and schedule installations within the store. About 100 or so stores will also host interactive kiosks that feature HD and other advanced services. Rebates will also be offered for new customers - $100 for a single product and $250 for triple play purchases. Broadcasting and Cable has all the details in this post.
The move follows similar moves by Comcast and other cable companies into retail relationships including WalMart and traditional electronics retailers like Best Buy. Cable has been a little more aggressive with retail relationships, since they lack the retail footprint of their telco competitors. Telco competitors are looking to catch up though. AT&T recently announced a WalMart distribution relationship for U-verse.
digg this story
googleAT&T Launches Online Experience Store
03 Oct, 2008Dallas, Texas, October 2, 2008 - The mobile shopping experience just got a makeover. AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today announced the launch of its Online Experience StoreSM, allowing shoppers to "touch," experience and purchase wireless devices and services online. The digital storefront introduces a new 3-D shopping model, giving customers rich, interactive demonstrations and tutorials in five categories of wireless products: phones and devices, music, video and Web, messaging, and e-mail and productivity. Read More ...
Wal-Mart Continues Move into Broadband
12 Oct, 2007
Just after a recent Wal-Mart announcement about a broadband reseller arrangement through HughesNet, Wal-Mart and Charter just announced a partnership to offer Charter’s triple play services throughout 700 Wal-Mart stores. The Wal-Mart stores that offer Charter’s triple play bundle will cover 93% of Charter’s footprint. Including the Wal-Mart store additions, Charter will now have a retail presence in over 1,000 storefronts.
Wal-Mart joins a host of retailers including Best Buy and Circuit City who have partnered to market triple play services. The Wal-Mart move is of particular interest because they sell more HDTVs than any retailer. Having an HDTV source to sell along side the HDTV at the point of purchase creates a significant opportunity for both Wal-Mart and Charter. “As Wal-Mart is expanding its offerings of high-definition televisions, computers and other products, we hope to compliment the customer's purchase with our services. For example, many consumers are unaware when they buy an HDTV, a high-definition source is also required in order to realize the full high-definition experience. In this case, Charter is the source that completes the product offering,” said Jeff Cox, Vice President of Sales Channels for Charter. The accompanying services of broadband and telephone create additional upselling opportunities. It will be interesting to see if Charter places sales reps inside Wal-Mart stores. Such a move could impact the sales process significantly. Wireless service providers have long placed their sales reps inside their partner retail stores, and have been quite successful with it.
Retail Strategy Continues to Attract
18 Jun, 2007
Earthlink recently announced a retail strategy that offers their municipal wireless broadband and other solutions through an unnamed retail partner. Utilizing a retail channel is increasingly becoming required to compete in today’s landscape. Both telecom and cable carriers are leveraging retail relationships to their fullest extent. AT&T recently announced expanding the role of their wireless retail presence. Cable MSOs continue to utilize retail channels through the likes of Circuit City, Best Buy and others.
Carriers who fail to have a retail channel may be at a disadvantage. The problem may be more acute for smaller carriers who operate in areas where appropriate retail partners exist, but smaller footprint and scale make it difficult to forge retail partnerships. While other sales channels are available and extremely relevant, including the web, retail channels continue to be attractive and should be exploited wherever possible.
For more info on Earthlink’s announcement, read this TWICE post.
About Telecompetitor
Telecompetitor is a leading industry blog covering the telecom competitive landscape. We provide insight, analysis, and commentary on the issues and implications of the evolving telecom competitive landscape.
a publication of
Channel
Webinars/Events
Upcoming Webinars
Packet Optical Networks – Enabling Your Future
Dec 16, 2008
Upcoming Events
NTCA Wireless Symposium
Jan 7-9, 2009 - Austin, TX
Featured Article
Should Telephone Service be Free?
12 Oct, 2008
Comcast announced a new promotion last week that offers 12 months of free basic cable service for new customers who also sign up for an additional service. Customers who don’t want an additional service can get Comcast’s basic service of about 20 -30 channels for $10/month. The promotion is tied to the digital TV transition of February 2009 and entices potential customers to avoid the transition “hassle” by getting “free” cable service. “The simple fact is that basic cable is the easiest path through the digital transition and now consumers can get it for free,” said Derek Harrar, General Manager and Senior Vice President, Video Services for Comcast in a company statement. This move is similar to strategies pursued by other video service providers, who are hoping to leverage the digital TV transition for new subscriber additions.
But is this strategy a leading indicator for the future? Should basic core services like basic cable and basic telephone service be offered for free, used as a “carrot” to entice customers to buy “more important” services like broadband? Maybe a very basic phone service, with no LD, access to landline 911, and maybe outgoing service only (to avoid telemarketers) should be a free component of a bundled offering. Such a wireline service may appeal to a customer who previously cut the cord for wireless only, but also needs broadband. There is a growing portion of the population who find the value of traditional wireline phone service elsewhere – either through wireless or broadband/IP services. But, if they could get the security of landline 911, and an extra dial tone in their home as a free value add for subscribing to broadband (or video from a telco’s perspective), maybe a telco’s bundled offering may look more attractive than a comparable cable offering. I realize this idea is not appealing to the hundreds of ILECs who are a part of the current access/settlement system (in fact, it couldn’t work in the context of today’s regulatory structure), but I wonder whether it’s inevitable. In this possible future scenario, the current settlement system adapts to broadband as the underlying service, as opposed to voice.
This scenario cuts both ways. From a cable company’s perspective, a growing portion of the population is turning to the Internet as a source for their video content, and no longer see value in paying for a broad package of video as a part of a traditional subscription pay-TV service. But, if they could receive basic TV (which includes local broadcast affiliates) as a free value add for buying broadband, maybe the cable bundle is more attractive. In a true IP/broadband world, very basic phone and video service is relatively easy to deliver, and has little impact on bandwidth and network performance. Maybe the digital transition is opening the door to a future where free basic services are a regular component of a bundled offering. Thoughts?