Are Americans Ready to Pay for ‘Quad Play’?

A combination of T-Mobile and Dish Network would merge two companies rooted in different industries. For consumers, it would merge some of the fastest-growing bills in their budgets. American households spent more than $191 a month on average for television, Internet and phone services in 2013, according to Labor Department data. That was up 24 percent from 2007 and about what they spent on health insurance. The question is whether Americans are going to take to paying all that to one company. The prospect isn’t so far-out anymore.

With satellite broadcaster Dish Network pursuing a merger with wireless carrier T-Mobile US, AT&T about to close a $49 billion acquisition of Dish rival DirecTV and cable companies experimenting with cellphone plans, many of the services that keep people entertained and in touch are moving under the same roof. Such providers are betting on so-called convergence -- the idea that they will be better off if they can bulk up, as services that used to flow via different wires and satellite dishes all start traveling on the Internet. The biggest benefit for operators is that customers who sign up for multiple services are less likely to switch providers. However, people tend to have a negative reaction to bigger bills, even if it is the same amount previously spread out over multiple providers, said telecommunications consultant Chetan Sharma. “It is a phenomenon that is top down,” he said. “Industry pushes it rather than consumers seeking it.”