In 2006, the nation’s largest telecom companies lobbied for – and got – reformed laws on video franchising, from state and federal governments. The effects of those changes now are most obvious in northern Texas, where Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) is overbuilding its FiOS networks in AT&T Inc. (T) territory.
The competition marks the first time Bells have gone head-to-head for residential video customers; traditionally, they’ve stuck to their own territories and respected those boundaries.
But video franchise reform changed the game and it brings up a number of questions – what happens if too few subscribers switch to a new service? How low will prices really go? And how will the presence of two large Bells impact smaller carriers such as CLECs?
