Comcast's Burke: No real Telco Competition Until '07 or Beyond

COMCAST'S BURKE: NO REAL TELCO COMPETITION UNTIL '07 OR BEYOND
[SOURCE: IP Democracy, AUTHOR: Cynthia Brumfield ]
Comcast Cable President Steve Burke made a number of surprisingly specific industry-wide predictions during a talk he gave today at Bank of America’s Media, Telecommunications and Entertainment Conference. The straightforward Burke addressed Wall Street’s disenchantment with the cable business, saying that investors have the misperception that cable is suddenly subject to competition for the first time, and that phone company entry into the video business is ratcheting up the competitive tension. “You have this history in the cable business of investors assuming that cable is a monopoly and therefore a good business to invest in. The reality is that cable hasn't been a monopoly for a long time,” Burke said, pointing to ten years of DBS rivalry and, more recently, cut-rate pricing competition for high-speed customers instigated by the telcos. Phone company competition in the video business is, however, pretty thin, Burke maintained. “The reality on the ground is that we don't have realistic competition from Verizon or AT&T until 07 or beyond.”
http://www.ipdemocracy.com/archives/001359comcasts_burke_no_real_telco_c...