Whitacre: Cable Price Hikes Over

WHITACRE: CABLE PRICE HIKES OVER
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Tom Steinert-Threlkeld]
AT&T said it expects that cable-television companies “almost certainly” will not be able to raise prices once it enters the market with its infinite-channel television service. That service -- which relies on Internet communication protocols and is scheduled to reach 18 million households over the next two years -- “will change the game for consumers,” chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre said Tuesday at the TelecomNEXT conference. “For one thing, it will offer a better video service than today’s cable -- more features, more functionality, more capability,” Whitacre said. “For another, it will almost certainly result in lower prices by cable television. And that is an experience few people have enjoyed.” Since 2000, the average price of telephone services in this country has dropped 22%, Whitacre said, adding that by contrast, cable rates increased 32%. “That’s about to change,” he said.
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