Verizon wireless now offered with Time Warner Cable bundles
updated 08:45 am EDT, Fri April 13, 2012
Verizon and Time Warner start on new partnership
Verizon’s controversial $3.6 billion acquisition of AWS spectrum licenses from cable companies initiated late last year has now borne fruit with its wireless services now being offered with Time Warner Cable bundles. When the deal was first announced, it was intended that Verizon would partner with the cable companies to help expand their services. Time Warner explains in its FAQ that the new bundle now offers customers the opportunity to also enjoy content wirelessly on mobile devices as well.
While the aim of the tie-up may ultimately lead to a user being able to access their cable content wirelessly on Verizon devices, the present arrangement will see Time Warner Cable customers simply getting a better bundle deal if they opt to take up the offer. To help spur initial take-up, Time Warner is also currently offering customers a $200 pre-paid debit card by mail if they sign up to the new deal.
The original spectrum deal attracted the interest of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee with T-Mobile also urging the FCC to step in and block the deal. T-Mobile argued that the new spectrum afforded to Verizon would give it an ‘excessive concentration’ of wireless spectrum. Sprint, for its part, simply wanted to ensure that Time Warner and Verizon made good on plans to advertise each others products in their stores as promised.
The latest announcement seems to suggest that this aspect of the deal is now coming to fruition, helping to allay some concerns about the transaction. [via DSL Reports]
