Comcast does what AT&T could not, with it's own equipment!
Now I am not one to gloat, but it appears that ComCast is attempting to offer multiple media services across their cable infrastructure. The irony here is that C. Michael Armstrong, former CEO of AT&T, set this goal for AT&T and failed at it miserably where ComCast is looking like they may pull it off. Not only that, but ComCast is using the very same equipment and infrastructure to offer these services that they purchased from AT&T a couple of years ago.
Far to often in technology, the failures come not from lack of vision or a will to win, but from a poor execution. I think that in this case, Mr. Armstrong tried to do too much, too soon. AT&T is not known to be a risk taking company (hell, a large number of it's employees still think they ARE the phone company), and when he proposed that they merge telephony with other media rich services and pipe all of them down coax cable, the company and its board recoiled.
Undaunted, Mr. Armstrong took a gamble and bought TCI and Media One, moving the company built upon two-pair copper into the "coax age". As a side note, one of the added benefits that came with the purchases was a large stake in the @Home broadband network, which would be the beginning of the end for that once high flying company.
I guess that we will have to wait and see if ComCast is able to be successful and make money where AT&T could only limp along. I for one think that the marrying of telephony and broadband services is long overdue, and I wish ComCast all the luck in making reality out of the promise that convergence has to offer.
9:06:08 AM 
|
|
