Verizon ends satellite deal, FiOS expansion as it partners with cable

Verizon Chief Executive Lowell McAdam said the telecom giant plans to end its wireless LTE partnership with satellite provider DirectTV and will stop its buildout of FiOS television and Internet services in the next couple years.

The moves come as Verizon Wireless forges a new partnership with cable giants to cross-market phone, video, Internet and cellular services. The comments, made at a UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York, signal massive shifts in the industry that have raised concerns with antitrust regulators, according to a person familiar with the thinking of government officials. Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett said the end of its partnership with DirectTV for a trial LTE service is “the first direct fall-out from Verizon’s ground-breaking deal” with cable companies. And even though McAdam insisted that Verizon will rigorously promote its FiOS video and Internet service in areas that compete with cable, the company said it doesn’t have plans to expand the expensive fiber network beyond what’s already been announced and scheduled for buildout over the next couple years.