Will Verizon And DirecTV Market a Video-Plus-Broadband Bundle?

One problem any fixed network provider has is that antitrust considerations generally bar, and are expected to bar, any firm from serving the entire country. A general rule of thumb might be that any single fixed-line provider getting close to 50 percent coverage of U.S. homes would trigger an antitrust or regulatory review of some sort.

But there are advantages to a national footprint. DirecTV, Dish Network, Hughes Network Systems, Wildblue, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA, for example, all have a national footprint, though using wireless, which has not historically triggered antitrust or regulatory review.

One thought that therefore has occurred, and should occur, to executives is the ability to use wireless to contend for customers on a national basis for multiple products. It appears Verizon Wireless and DirecTV might be gearing up to provide a broadband access and TV service on a national basis.

The bundle presumably would be based on the new Verizon Wireless fourth-generation Long Term Evolution network, combined with DirecTV's video service.

You might wonder why that is necessary, given that a customer could simply buy the Verizon LTE service directly. A customer can do that. But Verizon apparently thinks it can provide the fastest speeds by using a roof-mounted antenna and then in-home wireless router.

Since DirecTV already has a nationwide installation capability, DirecTV could provide the installation services.

For DirecTV, the partnership would mean it could sell a broadband bundle for the first time. For Verizon, the offer allows the company to compete with a "landline-equivalent broadband access service" across the entire country.

Verizon And DirecTV Test 4G Wireless In A Product Bundle